Real African Dishes: [MC-AllEthnic-Recipes] Epirus Cornmeal Sprinkle Pie with Nettles and Spinach - Pispilita me Tsourknida , 33g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber

* Exported from MasterCook *

Epirus Cornmeal Sprinkle Pie with Nettles and Spinach - Pispilita me Tsourknida

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 14 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : LowerCarbs

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 pound spinach -- or chard, trimmed, finely chopped, and washed well
1 pound nettles -- trimmed, finely chopped, and washed well
1 cup chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon salt
1 large leek -- white and tender green parts, finely chopped and washed well
2 large onions -- finely chopped
3/4 pound Greek feta cheese -- crumbled
freshly ground black pepper -- to taste
3 1/2 cups fine yellow cornmeal
2 cups extra virgin olive oil
2 1/2 cups water -- about, as needed

Place the spinach or chard, nettles, and mint in a large colander. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of the salt, and, using rubber gloves (raw nettles sting), mix the greens together, rubbing them between your fingers and against the holes in the colander so that they exude as much liquid as possible. This will take about 10 minutes. Let stand for 1 hour to drain further.

Using gloves, squeeze fistfuls at a time of the greens and rid them of any excess liquid, then place in a large bowl. Combine the greens with the leek, onions, and crumbled feta. Season with pepper.

Preheat the oven to 400F.
In a separate bowl, combine 2 1/2 cups of the cornmeal with the remaining teaspoon salt, 1 cup of the olive oil, and 1 cup water or enough to make a damp, mealy mixture. Oil an 18-inch round baking pan or pizza pan that is 2-inches deep with olive oil. Spread the cornmeal mixture in the bottom of the pan, pressing it down gently and working it out a little toward the edges of the pan so that it comes about an inch up the side. Spread the greens mixture evenly over the cornmeal base. Pour 1/2 cup of the remaining olive oil evenly over the greens. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup cornmeal over the greens and dampen by drizzling the remaining olive oil over it. Also sprinkle with 1 cup water so that the cornmeal on top is moist. Bake, uncovered, until the pie is golden and the base is set, about 1 hour.

NOTE: You may reduce the ingredients by half and bake the pie in a 10-inch round by 2-inch deep baking pan.

Makes one 18-inch pie; 12 to 15 servings

AuthorNote: Pispilita is one of the classic pies of Epirus. It means "sprinkle" pie - pispilizo in Greek is "to sprinkle" - for the way the cornmeal is dusted over the bottom of the baking pan and then over the greens themselves once the pie is assembled. Although almost any combination of greens or leeks and greens can go into the filling, I chose a pispilita with nettles because nettles are among the region's most esteemed greens. Tis and other, similar, pies also go by the name babanatsa.

Cuisine:
"Greek"
Source:
"The Glorious Foods of Greece by Diane Kochilas, 2001"
S(Formatted by Chupa Babi):
"Sept 2011"
Yield:
"1 18-inch pie"
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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 491 Calories; 37g Fat (66.4% calories from fat); 9g Protein; 33g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 22mg Cholesterol; 768mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 7 Fat.

Nutr. Assoc. : 0 3600 0 0 0 0 3272 0 435 0 0