roasted cauliflower and kale pie with potato crust

by Eva on November 1, 2012

We survived Halloween! Everything went fast. Everything! Unbelievable fast. This time I was well prepared, there is not much to do anyway. Get a load of candies, put everything in a bowl, wait for the door bell. I make it short, we all know the process. Do we? I have to admit I felt a little weakly and lousy like an incipient cold yesterday. I bundled up on the couch, took a nap and let our dog greet the kids and Mr. F took care of the candy bowl. I had been looking forward for Halloween and was a little disappointed to miss out all the fun and the costumes. Only half an hour later Mr. F called for a refill of the bowl. Refill? That was all, how did that happen so fast? I rushed into the kitchen wrapped a muffin, which I made earlier and handed it to the little princess in front of our door. Well she was not happy with her treat, she said a well-behaved ‘thank you’. I couldn’t make it more appealing with mentioning it’s a pumpkin muffin. Even whole wheat flour didn’t make her eyes sparkle. I don’t blame her. Behind the closed door I searched for the reason of our candy problem. Mr. F said I wouldn’t believe how this kids snatched as many treat as they could grab with both hands. Little monsters! Indeed some looked like zombies and we are lucky they were after sweets not our brains. So he just didn’t handed one candy per child he offered the whole bowl and let them self service. Seriously he is a smart guy, how could this happen, what a rookie mistake!

Maybe I should offer some of this pie next Halloween, I will definitively scare some little monsters away with kale and cauliflower. Lately we had a lot savory pie, quiche or tart, they are easy to make, great for office lunch and wait for you in fridge to be warmed up for a fast dinner. This one is made with a potato crust, the recipe is basically for Reibekuchen (potato fitter) which has to prebake anyway, so I roasted the cauliflower because veggies are better roasted and added more flavor with garlic, ginger and cumin.

roasted cauliflower and kale pie with potato crust

ingredients

for the crust:

500 g / 17.6 oz about 2 1/2 cups peeled, grated potato
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 large egg

for the filling:

300 g / about 1/2 small cauliflower, trimmed, broken into florets
2 Tbsp vegetable oil + more for the pan
60 g / 2.1 oz kale, stems removed cut into 1 cm / 1/2 inch pieces
100 g / 1/2 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp mustard powder (I used Colman’s)
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp salt
50 g / 2 oz feta cheese, crumbled

instructions

Preheat your oven to 190 C / 375 F. Grease your 20 cm x 4 cm / 8 inch x 1.5 inch pie pan, line a baking pan with parchment paper.
Put grated potatoes into strainer, sprinkle with salt, allow to stand for 10 minutes in your sink. Squeeze with your hand to remove excess liquid, move to another bowl, add egg and flour, stir well to combine. Press into pie pan, forming an edge around rim of pie pan.
Cover cauliflower evenly with oil and place on a baking tray. Bake potato crust and cauliflower for 25-30 minutes.
Bring a pot with 3 l / 3 quarts of water to boil, add kale and cook 5 minutes then drain.
In a big bowl add sour cream, 2 eggs, cumin, mustard powder, ginger, garlic, salt whisk well. Add roasted cauliflower, kale (squeeze out excess liquid) and feta, stir and pour on potato crust. Bake 35-40 minutes or until set and golden brown.

some notes

I used many kinds of potato, so far all did the job, I like Yukon Gold best.

variations

Change the flavor profile using lemon zest, garlic and rosemary!

Number of servings (yield): 6

{ 18 comments }

oven salad with kale, sweet potato and brown rice

by Eva on August 2, 2012

It is hot as blue blazes and my a/c is on duty nonstop and tries to keep the insight temperature at an human-appropriate level. I love my sweet treats, so I am still cranking up my oven despite the weather. I am not giving up my baking, that’s why ceiling fans are invented.

After popping cakes and cookies in my oven for weeks and eating rather cold meals like salads and sandwiches or cooking outside using the grill, I changed my strategy. I made some salads in the oven with roasted vegetables and switched to cold desserts, ice cream is in season right now.

I used tofu for this oven salad, not a stranger in my kitchen but neither a regular guest. If you like substitute tofu with chicken chunks, I’ll understand not everyone is in love with tofu in my house. The sweetness of the sweet potato and the crunchy kale work perfect together. Kale is known as a cold season vegetable but it is also very heat resistant and therefore available all year long. The other day I made a version with pearl barley instead of brown rice and loved it. As the cooking time is rather long for both, I like to double the amount and freeze half of it.

oven salad

serves 3

ingredients:

200 g / 1 cup brown rice

100 g / 3.6 oz kale, ribs removed and chopped

200 g / 7 oz. sweet potato, peeled and cut into bite size chunks (about one medium size)

200 g / 7 oz. tofu, extra firm (about half a block)

3 Tbsp ghee (clarified butter) or olive oil, divided

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

salt to taste

1 small lemon (juice and zest)

1 green onion, chopped

instructions:

Cook brown rice: in a medium saucepan bring 500 ml / 2 cups of water to boil, add salt and brown rice and reduce heat to medium, let simmer for 45 minutes. Drain if necessary and fluff with a fork.

Drain the tofu: cover tofu with paper towels and set it on a plate, top with another plate and put something heavy on it (like a pan). Let stand for 15 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 200 C / 400 F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Toss sweet potato chunks with 1 Tbsp ghee, season with salt and spread in one layer on one baking sheet. Put into the oven for about 20 minutes at first (after that you will add tofu and kale and continue cooking all together).

Cut the tofu into cubes. Mix soy sauce and sesame oil in a medium bowl and add tofu and marinate for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare kale and toss in 2 Tbsp ghee, spread evenly over the other baking sheet.

Remove sweet potato from the oven, flip them with a spatula and add the tofu cubes to this baking sheet. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 F and put both baking sheets into the oven, continue cooking for 15-18 minutes.

In a big bowl bring together brown rice, sweet potato and kale, sprinkle with lemon zest and juice. Season to taste and top with green onion.

{ 2 comments }

roasted cauliflower and kale pie with potato crust