Thursday, 24 May 2012

Spinach, Basil & Pumpkin Rice Torte


From Vegetarian Cookbook, Paul Gayler, Dorling Kindersley, 2000.

Still on the pumpkin binge, I thought a pie might possibly be the next variation on the theme.

I needed to cook 200 g of rice before I began. This was set boiling.

While the rice was cooking the pumpkin was cut into slices and also boiled.



While the two saucepans were boiling away I was able to attend to the frying section of the dish. An onion was chopped and sautéed for about 5 minutes. Spinach, two bunches of English spinach, and about a handful of basil were now tossed into the pan to cook until wilted. I then tossed the pan contents into a colander and pressed them firmly against the side to drain out as much moisture as I could. This mix was then chopped.



The cooked rice was now split into two equal portions and the spinach mixed into one of the portions with a quantity of grated Parmesan cheese and one beaten egg.

The other portion of rice had Parmesan cheese and one beaten egg mixed into it.



A springform cake tin was greased and buttered filo pastry pressed around the bottom and sides to form a casing for the filling with a bit of an overhang. The spinach layer was added first followed by slices of pumpkin and, finally, the other rice. Left over pieces of filo were cut into strips and draped across the top as a decoration.

The pie went into the oven for about 45 minutes. It was then carefully taken out of the tin and put hack into the oven for a little longer to ensure that the torte sides were done.

It was served with a roasted cherry tomato salsa.

I’ve had this cookbook for some time now and not cooked over much from it but now that I’ve got back into it I think I should investigate it a little more.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔
Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔

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