BA’s Skillet Phyllo Dough Pie with Butternut Squash, Kale, and Goat Cheese
Holy skillet phyllo pie! What’s better than easy, delicious, and healthy?! (OK - notice I didn’t say fast) This is a great recipe because you could essentially throw any roasted veggies and cheese into the phyllo dough and it’ll come out great. I made some slight variations to the original recipe from Bon Appetit which can be found here. The last step in the original recipe was weird. It says, “Cook pie over medium heat until bottom of pastry is just golden (carefully lift up on one side with a heatproof rubber spatula so that you can take a peek), about 3 minutes.” I don’t know what kind of cooking wizard can lift up delicate phyllo dough without it breaking but it’s not me. I did let it cook for 3 minutes, didn’t look at it and just threw it in the oven. Don’t forget phyllo dough takes about 2 hours to thaw, so plan accordingly. It took me a little less than an hour to cut up and prepare all the veggies. They say you can make this up to 6 hours ahead of time, but I still like it warm out of the oven. Also in regards to the measurements of cheese. Do yourself a favor and grab a kitchen scale for things like this. It’ll come in handy, trust me.
Ingredients
3 Tbsp ghee or olive oil, plus more for brushing
2 medium red/white/whatever onions, finely chopped
½ small butternut squash (about 1 pound) or 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into bite sized pieces *make sure tiny or it will take longer to cook!
1½ teaspoons chopped thyme
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp smoked paprika
¼ tsp ancho chile powder
2 cloves garlic, crushed or 2 cubes of Trader Joe’s frozen garlic
12 cups kale (basically 2 heads), ribs and stems removed, thinly sliced crosswise
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
8 ounces frozen phyllo pastry, thawed (half a 1-pound package)
4 ounces fresh goat cheese (or feta), crumbled
What To Do
Make sure phyllo dough has thawed for 2 hours (you can get away with 45 mins-1 hour though).
Place a rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 400°. Heat 3 Tbsp. oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Meanwhile, start roasting squash until almost soft, about 15 minutes (stir halfway through and check). Mix in thyme, pepper flakes, and seasonings to the onions. In the last minute add the crushed garlic in an empty spot on the pan and let it saute for 1 minute until fragrant then mix in with the vegetables. Transfer to a medium bowl; let cool (you're going to add eggs and parmesan and don't want to do it while the veggies are still hot). Wipe out and reserve skillet.
Add 1 Tbsp olive, kale, and ¼ cup vegetable broth over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper, cover and cook for about 5 minutes or until wilted. When it’s done combine it with the butternut squash mixture and onions.
Stir eggs, Parmesan, and lemon zest together in a separate bowl, then combine with the squash mixture and gently mix to combine; season with salt and pepper.
Layer phyllo sheets inside reserved skillet (I like to split put half the sheets in the pan then cross the other half over forming a + sign. Feel free to get as fancy as you'd like). Spoon kale-and-squash mixture into phyllo and dot top with goat cheese. Brush edges of phyllo lightly with oil and fold over filling, overlapping slightly, leaving center exposed. Brush top with olive oil as well.
Transfer skillet to oven and bake pie for about 25 minutes. Let pie cool in skillet at least 15 minutes before slicing into wedges.
Note to self: You could do the same filling and put in between puff pastry and top with dijon cream sauce.
