winter squash and greens bake

 Looking around the kitchen, not wanting to go to the store ... this sounded good with a lot of substitutions.  I followed both the post I found for winter squash and spinach bake and their source pasta and butternut squash cake.

Ingredients

• 8 oz broken up lasagna noodles 
• 400 g winter squash, peeled and sliced very thinly
• 3+ cloves garlic, sliced very thinly
• 1 egg
• 100 g ricotta (I substituted a mix of sour cream/yogurt/cottage cheese; recipe called for 200-250 g)
• 50-100 g parmesan, grated (divided)
• 200 g feta, crumbled small (divided)
• 1 cup grated fontina cheese (I used mozzarella) 
• 5 oz/150 g baby greens chopped 
• salt, pepper
• basil, thyme, parsley  
• red pepper flakes (<1/2 tsp)
• 2 T olive oil 
• 1 cup water

Mix together in a big bowl, sprinkling top with feta and parmesan left.  Put into 9" round or square pan lined with parchment paper.  Cover tightly with foil.  

Bake at 350 degrees for 90 minutes.  REmove foil, drizzle 1 T olive oil, and let bake another 30 minutes. 

 

phyllo with greens & cheese

I have some ingredients to use up, and what brings things together better than (organic) phyllo dough? Me = very excited. I used to make a chard phyllo thing when my garden was overabundant. I remember a roommate coming home and sniffing, "I don't eat anything green," and I remember they were very tasty - but beyond that, not so much.

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• kale - I have quite a bit left, so I will boil it down and chop it up finely.
• spinach - frozen, thawed. Note, other greens such as chard and beet greens would be phenomenal.
  
• fennel greens, chopped up
• onion (1)
  
• garlic (2 cloves)
  
• ricotta - leftover from bruschette adventures, I was wondering what to do with it (4-6 oz)
  
• feta - picked up today, I'll use some for a good flavor (4 oz)
  
• 1 egg
  
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg - really, just a little bit
• salt and pepper (other things as desired such as lemon juice, mint, other spices, etc.)
  
• phyllo
  

Sweat onion and garlic to soften. Either cook the greens with that or boil greens separately & then drain/chop and then add in. Add fennel greens. Do drain the greens well or it'll be too soupy.

Add the rest of the ingredients (except phyllo) and mix it up. Taste it and see if anything is missing, adjust, etc.

Let it cool (or prepare the day before). The phyllo should thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

There are many tutorials on-line about how to use phyllo dough; I don't remember it ever being a hassle so I just follow the directions on the box. Lay it out, brush some olive oil, cut it in strips, make it triangles. I like a lot of filling and not much phyllo - probably because I've never had the pleasure of fresh phyllo.

Bake at about 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. Also freeze well to be baked later!

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Phyllo is fun, and if I have any left over I will do some little things with apple, thyme, and pecorino cheese. Yum! You can stuff anything in it and enjoy.