Three Color Pie

Happy New Year! I thought this rich-tasting veggie pie would be a great way to ring in 2013. This dish is all about bringing color to the table.



Three Color Pie

Ingredients (Crust):

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 5/8 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup ice water
• 1/2 tsp salt

Ingredients (Pie Filling):

• 1 large zucchini
• 1 large yellow squash
• 1/2 of a beetroot, peeled
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese*
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp sage
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

(*you can substitute ricotta cheese with most other soft cheeses or cream cheese. I've used Neufchâtel, goat cheese, and fromage blanc, for example, and each adds its own unique flavor to the dish.)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375° F.

Crust: In a bowl, mix flour and salt, then make a well in the center with a spoon. Add the olive oil and water, and mix gently with a spoon until just barely combined. Then continue kneading the dough with your fingers until fully combined. Roll the dough into a ball and place it in the center of a 9 inch pie dish. Press it out evenly along the bottom and sides with your thumbs, to about 1/4 inch thickness. Place the crust in the freezer until ready to fill and bake.


You can get as fancy pressing the edges as you want, but I usually go for a more rustic look with this pie.

Pie Filling: Cut zucchini and squash into thin round slices (a mandoline slicer comes in very handy for this task). Then cut the beet into small slivers. In a large frying pan on medium heat, saute the squash, zucchini, garlic, and spices in olive oil until the vegetables are softened but not browned or burned. Set aside. In the same pan, saute the beet slivers, then set them aside separately (if you combine them with the other veggies too quickly they will stain everything red, and you'll lose the variety of color).

Spoon the cheese into the pie crust and spread evenly over the bottom. Layer the vegetable filling and beets on top of the cheese. Lastly, pour the beaten eggs over top of the pie evenly, letting it saturate all the filling.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before cutting and serving.



I really enjoy serving a slice of this pie with a glass of red wine to compliment the pops of red from the beets. Mmm.