Spinach Pie With Pancetta Recipes

SAUTEED SPINACH WITH CRISP PANCETTA

Steps:

• Heat a large skillet over medium. Add pancetta; cook until crisp, 4 to 6 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to a paper-towel-lined plate; reserve fat in skillet.
• Add as much spinach as will fit in skillet; season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing spinach and adding more as it wilts. Continue to cook until tender, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, and pour off excess liquid; stir in lemon juice. Top with pancetta.

SPINACH PIE

Steps:

• Make the filling: In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Add onions, and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and 2 teaspoons salt; cook until garlic is tender, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Transfer mixture to a large bowl; stir in spinach, feta, Parmesan, breadcrumbs, dill, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Fold in eggs until combined.
• Divide mixture evenly between two 9-inch springform pans or two 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie plates; press firmly to flatten.
• Make the topping: In a large bowl, gently toss sliced phyllo to separate, then toss with remaining 1/2 cup oil until coated.
• Divide phyllo between pies, covering the tops evenly and completely. (To freeze, cover pies tightly with plastic wrap, being careful not to flatten topping. Bake within 3 months; do not thaw first.)
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake until heated through and topping is golden brown, about 1 hour 15 minutes for frozen pie (30 minutes for unfrozen pie).

SPINACH PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a medium saute pan on medium heat, saute the onions with the olive oil until translucent and slightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the salt and pepper and allow to cool slightly. Squeeze out and discard as much of the liquid from the spinach as possible. Put the spinach into a bowl and then gently mix in the onions, eggs, nutmeg, Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, feta, and pignoli. Butter an ovenproof, nonstick, 8-inch saute pan and line it with 6 stacked sheets of phyllo dough, brushing each with melted butter and letting the edges hang over the pan. Pour the spinach mixture into the middle of the phyllo and neatly fold the edges up and over the top to seal in the filling. Brush the top well with melted butter. Bake for 1 hour, until the top is golden brown and the filling is set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Serve at room temperature.

SPINACH WITH PANCETTA

Steps:

• Rinse the spinach well and drain it. Remove tough stems, center membranes and blemished leaves. There should be about 10 cups reasonably well-packed. Break the spinach into two-inch pieces
• Heat the pancetta in a skillet and cook until rendered of fat.
• Cut the onion into quarters. Cut each quarter crosswise into the thinnest possible slices. Add the onion pieces to the pancetta in the skillet. Add the spinach and cook, stirring, until it is wilted. Add salt, pepper and lemon juice and cook about one minute. Serve immediately.

WARM SPINACH SALAD WITH PANCETTA DRESSING

Steps:

• Combine the spinach and red onions in a large bowl.
• Heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium-high heat until hot and shimmering. Add the mushrooms and salt to taste, and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until they start to release their moisture and begin to shrink, 2 to 3 minutes. Now let the mushrooms cook undisturbed until their liquid evaporates and they have turned deep golden brown on one side, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir and continue cooking until nicely browned on both sides, 3 to 5 minutes more. With a slotted spoon, remove the mushrooms from the pan and toss with the spinach and onions.
• In a separate, heavy-bottomed saucepan, cook the pancetta over medium-low heat until dark and crispy, about 15 minutes. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and reserve.
• To the rendered fat in the pan, add the vinegar, honey and mustard. Bring to a boil and whisk to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste and then pour the warm dressing over the spinach, mushrooms and onions. Add the reserved pancetta and toss to distribute the heat and dressing.
• Serve in a salad bowl, garnished with pine nuts.

SPINACH PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• To a large pot, add the olive oil and saute the onions until browned. Add the scallions, dill, nutmeg, black pepper and salt.
• Boil the chopped spinach until blanched and still bright green, stirring occasionally. Mix it together with the ingredients in the pot. Add the crumbled feta cheese and the eggs, making sure that the mixture is slightly cool so the eggs don't scramble. Mix well.
• Brush 1 pound of the phyllo dough with melted butter, piece by piece, layering in a large enough tray to fit the phyllo sheets. Then add the spinach mixture on top and, piece by piece, layer and brush the rest of the phyllo on top. Mark the pieces with a knife and make sure the ends are tucked in, then sprinkle with a little water.
• Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown.

POLENTA 'PIZZA' WITH PANCETTA AND SPINACH

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees; brush a layer of olive oil on a pizza pan or cookie sheet. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine milk with 2 1/2 cups water and a large pinch of salt. Bring just about to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and add cornmeal in a steady stream, whisking all the while to prevent lumps from forming. Turn heat to low and simmer, whisking frequently, until thick, 10 or 15 minutes. If mixture becomes too thick, whisk in a bit more water; you want a consistency approaching thick oatmeal.
• Stir 1 tablespoon oil into cooked cornmeal (polenta). Spoon it onto prepared pan, working quickly so polenta does not stiffen; spread it evenly to a thickness of about 1/2 inch all over. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover baking sheet with plastic wrap and put it in refrigerator until it is firm, an hour or more (you can refrigerate polenta overnight if you prefer).
• Put polenta in oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until it begins to brown and crisp on edges. Meanwhile, put two tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft and pancetta is nicely browned, about 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to take onion and pancetta out of pan; set aside. Add spinach to skillet and sauté until it releases its water and pan becomes dry; sprinkle with salt and lots of pepper.
• Take polenta out of oven, sprinkle with Gorgonzola, then spread onion-pancetta mixture and spinach evenly on top of cheese; drizzle with another tablespoon olive oil. Put pizza back in oven for two minutes, or until cheese begins to melt and pancetta and vegetables are warmed through. Cut into slices and serve hot or at room temperature.

PASTA WITH SPINACH, BEANS AND PANCETTA

Steps:

• Bean sauce -- In a large saute pan, add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and saute the pancetta until lightly brown. Then add the onion, red pepper flakes and continue cooking until the onion is slightly soft and translucent. Then add the beans, salt and pepper, wine, chicken broth, and parsley. Simmer 10-15 minutes on low. Mash up the beans slightly with a fork. The beans will naturally thicken the sauce.
• Pasta -- While the beans cook, start cooking your pasta according to directions.
• Spinach -- Now . while the beans simmer and the pasta cook, lets make the spinach. In a large skillet heat the 2 tablespoons olive oil and butter. Add the garlic and cook just a minute until lightly browned, then add the tomatoes and cook 3-4 minutes until they start to break down. Next, add the spinach and cook until lightly wilted just a couple of minutes, not too long. Add additional salt and pepper and cook until spinach is slightly wilted.
• Combine -- Drain the pasta, (reserve a little of the water) and toss with the bean mixture, parmesan cheese, and the spinach mixture. Add a little of the pasta water if you would like a little more sauce. I also like to drizzle just a bit of good olive oil the top. ENJOY!
• Some good toasted baguettes are perfect with this. Just topped with a little olive oil is all.

SPANAKOPITA (GREEK SPINACH PIE)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly oil a 9x9 inch square baking pan.
• Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion, green onions and garlic, until soft and lightly browned. Stir in spinach and parsley, and continue to saute until spinach is limp, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
• In a medium bowl, mix together eggs, ricotta, and feta. Stir in spinach mixture. Lay 1 sheet of phyllo dough in prepared baking pan, and brush lightly with olive oil. Lay another sheet of phyllo dough on top, brush with olive oil, and repeat process with two more sheets of phyllo. The sheets will overlap the pan. Spread spinach and cheese mixture into pan and fold overhanging dough over filling. Brush with oil, then layer remaining 4 sheets of phyllo dough, brushing each with oil. Tuck overhanging dough into pan to seal filling.
• Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown. Cut into squares and serve while hot.

SAUTEED SPINACH WITH PANCETTA

Steps:

• Cook spinach in 1 inch of boiling salted water in a large pot, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold running water until cool. Squeeze handfuls of spinach to remove excess moisture.
• Cook pancetta in oil in a skillet over moderately high heat, stirring, until browned, about 3 minutes. Add spinach and salt and pepper to taste and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until heated through.