Greens and Gruyère Pie

Puff, sizzle, crunch.

I had planned on a very fun newsletter today, but the truth is, I feel under the weather, my book is due in 10 days and I am a wee bit overwhelmed. I’m sorry. I’ll be back soon in long and better form.

That said, I have a wonderful, easy and elegant vegetarian recipe that I didn’t want to wait to send you, so you do get that in the meantime.

I have never taken advantage of having puff pastry in the freezer until recently. A box had been sitting in there staring at me for who knows how long, before I finally woke up one morning and had a craving for something savory and potpie-like and a whole lot of greens in the fridge to use up. And, here we are!

This dish is incredibly versatile. I cooked down escarole and Lacinato kale, but you could use any sturdy greens such as Swiss chard, spinach or mustard greens to name a few or a combination like I did. The mixture, which also includes leeks and shallots, is cooked down in a bit of white wine and tossed with Gruyère cheese, before it bakes under a buttery crust of puff pastry. It is delicious. Make sure you salt as you add in the greens in batches, it will help release some of their liquid, and help them to wilt willingly.

You can serve it with a salad alongside and now that I’m thinking about it, it would also work just as well for a fun Sunday lunch as it would for a weeknight dinner. I will also now never be without puff pastry in the freezer again! It’s opened up a world of options.

I used a Staub oval baking dish, which can hold 4 cups/a quart. I can't seem to find that one on their website, but a 10-inch oven safe skillet will do the trick. This one would also work.