Deep Dish Spinach Pie

Deep Dish Spinach Pie Recipe
Adapted from Barefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Make at Home

Prep Time: 15 mins Cooking Time: 30 to 40 mins

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 or 2 cloves crushed garlic
2 (10 oz) boxes frozen chopped spinach, defrosted (if using fresh spinach, microwave until wilted then squeeze the water out)
1/3 cup chopped scallions
1 cup grated Gruyere cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 large eggs
2 large eggs whites
1 tablespoon dry bread crumbs
3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
2 sheets (1 box) frozen puff pastry defrosted
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water for egg wash

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat the olive oil in a saute pan and cook the onions over medium-low heat for 5 to 7 minutes, until tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Meanwhile, squeeze most of the water out of the spinach and place in a bowl. Add the onion mixture, scallions, Gruyere, Parmesan, eggs, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, nutmeg and pine nuts. Mix well.

Unfold one piece of puff pastry, roll out into a rectangle, poke with a fork and and place in a square baking dish with the edges draped over the side. [Important note: puff pasty gets very sticky if you wait until it is fully thawed to unfold it. I recommend that you sprinkle some flour on the counter and unfold the pastry when it is still cold. When thawed, flatten it with a rolling pin.]

Scoop the spinach mixture on top of the pastry in the baking dish. Roll out the second piece of puff pastry on a floured board until it is also a rectangle. Place the second sheet of pastry over the spinach and tuck the sides down into the baking pan . Then roll up the flaps from the bottom pastry. In a circular motion go around the entire parameter of the baking dish and roll and seal pinching along the way to make a seal on top. Brush the top with egg wash and then use a fork to poke the top of the pastry a few times. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the pastry is lightly browned and puffy. Let cool 20 minutes before slicing. Serves 6 (note: when I baked this pie, it served more 10 people than 6 but we had it as a side dish).