13 August Friday the 13th 2010

Although it was Friday the 13th the day was blessed with hot weather, lots of friendly folks, a birthday or two and good food.
It was Liz's birthday. Abby, Ella and Olivia collaborated on Liz's peach and blackberry birthday pie. It was everything a good pie should be. The crust was flaky and buttery and the filling was juicy without being watery. Thickened just right. The chef-instructor in me gave it an A plus. No lurking thoughts that this or that could have been tweaked. And it was just the right balance of sweet and tangy. Sugar can only get you so far.

Today our menu was Mediterranean inspired, as that is the area in which I'm working just now for my textbook.

Homemade phyllo filled with onion, tomato and nuts (no photo!)
Coca, a Spanish flatbread topped with vegetables and olives
Improvised lentil vegetable soup with mint (I just can't stop using it this summer)
Arugula salad with lemon and olive oil (the farm crew loves this)
Roma beans simmered with garlic
Assorted goat cheeses (courtesy of Mary Buschell and Dick Flowers)

Mary and Dick brought two friends from Ann Arbor, Houda and Jeff, so they joined our lunch group. Mary and Dick live in Maple City and raise goats. Mary makes fantastic and various cheeses from the milk. Robert called her lavender and honey goat's cheese "ethereal". She and Jenny talked about offering shares of cheese to the members.

Although there isn't a picture of the homemade phyllo made into a pie, it was the hands down favorite this time--besides the cheeses, of course.

Here is a recipe for it adapted from Diane Kochilas' amazing cookbook The Glorious Foods of Greece. Make it with greens, garlic and herbs.

Phyllo Dough for 15 to 18-inch round pan

4 cups unbleached white flour
1 scant tablespoon kosher salt
1 cup warm water
3/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Mix flour and salt together in large bowl. Mix liquid ingredients together and pour into flour. Mix together to a moist dough. Knead 10 minutes in bowl until dough is tender and resilient, dusting with flour as necessary. Cover dough with towel and rest 1 hour in warm place.

Onion, Tomato and Nut Filling

1/3 cup olive oil
5 large red or white onions, finely slivered or sliced
4 medium tomatoes
1 1/2 cups toasted walnuts (traditional) or pecans (very tasty), lightly chopped
1/4 cup olive oil for brushing between phyllo layers

Heat olive oil in large, wide skillet (12 to 14 inches). Cook onions over medium heat until soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Season with salt.

Meanwhile, slice tomatoes around their equators. On a box grater, grate tomatoes on cut side until the skin is all that's left in your hand. You should have about 3 1/2 to 4 cups. Pour tomato into the soft onions and simmer over medium to medium low heat until moist, but no longer wet, 10 to 15 minutes. Don't let them burn.

Taste the mixture and season with salt and pepper. Cool mixture to lukewarm. Stir in nuts.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Divide dough into 5 balls and cover. On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 dough ball thinly until it's 2 inches larger in diameter than your 18 to 20 inch round pan. Oil the pan and set dough on it. Brush with olive oil. Repeat with two more balls of dough, oiling each layer.

Spread filling evenly over dough. Roll out remaining two dough balls and, as before, brush with olive oil each time.

Roll up edges of dough. Brush top with remaining olive oil. Place pie in oven and bake until golden, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Cool pie slightly before cutting.