Great Greens! Part IV

This summer I have discovered through sheer garden neglect exactly how much of a superstar kale really is. Not only does it top out with the highest ANDI score of all the vegetables, the kale plants in my garden that started off as a decent fall crop last year, then overwintered in my zone 6 garden to produce an abundant spring harvest - drumroll, please - grew whole new plants this summer from the scraggly stalks I had let go to seed, each one producing a full size bunch from one little side shoot! Which presents me with an unexpected opportunity to enjoy even more super-local kale. Yippee! If only my children were so excited about the prospect.

I decided to utilize a strategy that has served me well in the past when entertaining guests who are skeptical about the potential pleasures of whole-grain, vegetarian cooking. Rather than disguise the item in question, I like to package it in such a way as to be irresistable. In this case, kale-pine nut spanikopita to the rescue! For those unsure about "spanikopita", it simply means spinach pie in Greek. It is often made into bit-sized triangles and passed around as an hors-d'oeuvre. I love two things about spanikopita: the buttery flakiness of the phyllo and its ability to incorporate ridiculous amounts of greens into a very tasty dish. While spinach is the typical green used, in Greece there are often other greens added, particularly in the springtime when all the wild greens are out. Then the little triangles are called hortapita (horta meaning wild green). Here's a funky recipe for hortapita from FarmPlate, a most excellent blog. I say funky because it has fennel in it (bleh!)

Hmm, maybe I should call my version KALEPITA! Oh, and the other nice thing is that it can easily be made vegan-style, without the feta cheese and using olive oil in place of butter. Finally, don't be afraid to use phyllo dough! The main thing is to let it thaw properly. If you rush it, you may end up with a crumbly mess as I did with this last version! But it still tasted delicious anyway.

Kale-Pine Nut Spanikopita (Kalepita)

1/2 package of phyllo dough, thawed according to package directions
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 T olive oil

2 T olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
1 large bunch kale or other greens -collard, chard, spinach - leaves stripped from stems, chopped into 1 inch pieces and washed well (salad spinner works great for this)
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill or 2 T dried dill (less if you're not sure how you feel about dill)
1/4 cup chopped fresh speariment leaves or 2 T dried mint

1/2 lb firm tofu, crumbled
1/2 to 3/4 lb feta cheese, crumbled (Trader Joe's is quite good, imported from Greece - save the fancy feta for your mezze plate)

1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted (toaster oven or dry skillet on med-low heat - don't let them burn!)

1. Heat 2 T olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Saute onion 5 minutes, then add garlic and cook 2 minutes more. Stir in kale pieces, cover and cook over med-low heat for 25 minutes.
2. Stir dill, mint, tofu, 1/2 lb feta and pine nuts into the kale mixture. Sprinkle in 1/2 t black pepper and taste to see if either salt or more feta seems needed. It should be pretty tasty at this point. But it will get tastier when tucked inside the phyllo!
3. Warm the butter and add 2 T olive oil. Hunt down a pastry brush. Get out the phyllo dough and lightly oil the bottom of a 9" x 12" or so casserole dish. Preheat your 350 degree oven.
4. Working quickly but carefully, begin to butter and layer half of the phyllo sheets in the bottom of the casserole dish. It doesn't matter if they get torn, and any part of the sheet that hangs over the edge should be folded down into the dish. And don't stress if exactly half don't make it into each layer - this is not an exact science.
5. When half of the phyllo has been layered, spread the entire kale/cheese mixture over the top of it. Make sure the whole surface is covered or someone will get a disappointing piece of the pie.
6. Repeat Step #4 until the remaining phyllo sheets have all been used, brushing the top sheet with butter. If you run out of the butter/oil mixture, just add more butter or oil to the bowl as your conscience allows. Some people - or so I've heard - sometimes take the lazy way out and use spray olive oil instead of brushing each sheet. But please don't tell my Greek inlaws!
7. Bake the dish in the middle of the oven for 35-40 minutes. It's done when the top is lightly browned and your home smells like a village plateia at around 10pm when everyone is out enjoying their supper.