A Subtle But Very Good Dinner: Cossack Pie

Loyal Readers, here are two pictures of what is left of tonight's dinner. What you are seeing is called "Cossack Pie" from the original Moosewood Cookbook. I modified the recipe a bit to accommodate the ingredients I had at home and I must say, it was a lovely dinner with just a salad and some excellent dry French Rose (my latest pet wine for the summer.)

I tried a new pie crust for this creation, also from the Moosewood Cookbook and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy and good it was. I use approximate measures because when I made this, I used more than the called for amount of veggies (probably double) and it was really good.

RECIPE:

1 9" unbaked pie shell (recipe below)

1 zucchini (green or yellow), yellow squash or a good cup of sliced mushrooms
1 cup or so chopped onions
1 cup or so shredded cabbage
1 cup or so thinly sliced broccoli
1 cup or so thinly sliced carrots
3 T butter
2 T flour
generous 1/2 tsp ground up caraway seeds (I smashed them around in a mortar & pestle)
generous 1/2 tsp dried basil
2 T dry white wine
1/2 dried dill (I forgot this but it would probably add a nice flavor)
1/3 cup farmer's or cottage cheese
2 eggs
3/4 mixed sour cream & yogurt (I used Greek yogurt...YUM)
Paprika

Saute all the vegetables except zucchini (or mushrooms) in the butter until just tender. This might take a while, but what's the hurry? Add spices. Remove from heat and toss with wine and flour. Set aside.

Puree the eggs and cheese in a blender or in the food processor you used for the crust (just wipe it out a bit...no need to get crazy about it). Add salt and pepper as desired or not.

Add egg-cheese puree to sauteed veggies and put in the crust.

Saute the zucchini slices (or sliced mushrooms) in oil or butter about five minutes.

Spread the yogurt/sour cream on the veggies. Top with the zucchini slices. Dust with paprika.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Let rest 10. Serve with salad and good wine. YUM YUM.

EASY AS PIE PIE CRUST

In a food processor, put a cup of flour. (A mixture of white and wheat is nice...about 3 parts white and one part wheat or something like that). Put the bowl of the processor with the flour in it in the freezer or fridge for a little while to chill it.

Meanwhile, cut up 1/3 cup unsalted butter into chunks and put that back in the fridge to keep it cool.

When everything is cold, combine the butter and flour in the food processor and pulse about 12 times. Add about 3 -4 T yogurt, buttermilk or water (cold) and pulse until you can pinch the mixture and have it hold together. This won't take many pulses.

Pour it out onto a floured surface and form it into a ball. Put it into a plastic bag and refrigerate for an hour or so. Then, roll it out and put it into a pie dish and follow the instructions above. This dough is very easy to work with. An easy and GREAT recipe.