Meet the meatless version of our savory pie—a delicious vegetarian alternative to the Meat Pie with just the right amount of crust and fluffiness. Bonus: our Spinach and Lemon Pies are chock full of tangy spinach and Toasted Pine Nuts, and are perfect for enjoying on the go! While the ingredient list differs from that of the Meat Pie, the basic preparation process is the same. No matter which version you’re making, just remember: the drier your hands are, the easier it will be to seal your pies.
SPINACH AND LEMON PIES
Ingredients
- 3 12-oz packages of chopped frozen spinach, thawed
- 1 cup parsley, chopped
- ½ lb onions, minced
- 1 heaping teaspoon salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp citric acid (citric acid can be found in Middle Eastern markets and most specialty stores)
- ⅓ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup Toasted Pine Nuts
- Basic Dough
Directions:
Have a bowl of all-purpose flour handy to flour your hands and any surface as needed. Portion out 1 ½ oz balls of Basic Dough, rounding with your hands and dipping lightly in flour to prevent stickiness before placing in rows on a clean surface. Cover loosely with plastic to prevent air from drying out the dough, and allow to rise for 10-15 minutes. One batch of Basic Dough makes approximately 36 dough balls.
Squeeze defrosted spinach through a cheesecloth to drain juices. (Note: See video below for demonstration.)
Combine spinach, parsley, onion, salt, pepper, citric acid, lemon juice, and olive oil in a bowl and mix with hands to combine. Add pine nuts and continue mixing until evenly incorporated.
Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
Flour your work surface. Place one dough ball in the center of your work surface and flatten with the heel of your hand. Stretch the flattened dough ball into a circle that is approximately 4 ½” in diameter. Keep the edges of the dough thin; the middle should be thick enough to support the weight of the filling. Avoid over-flouring, as this will cause the dough to lose its tackiness and make sealing more difficult.
Place a heaping tablespoon of filling in the middle of the dough circle. Using your fingers, shape the filling into a triangle.
Gather the edges of the dough and pinch tightly with your fingers to seal in the shape of a triangle—if pies are not closed tightly enough they will open up while baking. (Note: See photos and video below for demonstration.) Place each pie on the sheet pan and bake 12-18 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and brush with canola oil while still warm. Let cool on sheet pan. Spinach and Lemon pies may be refrigerated for up to 7 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
SEALING TECHNIQUE
(Note: Our Meat Pies are showcased in the video below, but the same sealing technique applies for Spinach and Lemon Pies)
