Spring Greens Pie

We love roasted golden beets and I'm always looking for good go-to recipes to use the nutritious and tasty beet greens that are left over. This recipe tasted wonderful when it was all said & done, but it was quite labor intensive. I am quite efficient in the kitchen and not afraid of a labor-intensive dish as long as the outcome is worth it - the jury is still out on this one. I do love the cooking-spray method w/ phyllo dough, and man I had forgotten how much of a PAIN the phyllo can be!!! I did make 4 individual "pies" in 12oz ramekins so everyone had their own "piece" (and I feel like you each get more crispy "crust" goodness this way). I also took another reviewer's suggestion and brushed the phyllo tops with milk so they wouldn't burn. I added a bit of red pepper flakes when cooking the greens. Served roasted golden beets (leftover from using the greens in this dish) along with watermelon, fennel & feta over arugula with an orange-juice vinaigrette. Yum!

I made a lot of changes because of previous reviews and the availability of some of the ingredients. I used one leek instead of the shallots, 1 1/2c. green onions, subbed feta for the ricotta, doubled the fennel seeds, used 1 Tbls. dried dill instead of fresh, added a tsp. of oregano and a pinch of cayenne, forgot the parsley and didn't miss it, left out the arugula, and used half beet greens and half spinach. Oh, and I added 2/3 c. raisins, which I think gave it a sweet counterpoint to the slightly bitter/tannic greens. We had it with roasted sweet potatoes & onions, and watermelon chunks. We loved it and I will definitely make it again with my changes. Next time, I will prep the greens the day before or the afternoon before I make the pie--it took 45 min. to de-vein all of that and then cook it. It reheats well in a moderate oven for 10-15 min.

I doubled the green onions, left out the shallots, used feta instead of other cheeses. Also just used spinach and beet greens. Had a tangy flavor. Brushed the top w/ milk and olive oil mixture to keep it from drying out. Loved it. Carnivore husband and picky vegetarian daughter had to admit it was pretty good.

Although this was easy to make and looks beautiful, I didn't like it much. Along with beets and arugula, my CSA delivered mustard greens, so I used those instead of spinach. I'll eat it, but I'm not really looking forward to it.