Mmm…..garlic, oregano, tomatoes, onions….the aroma of Italy and Greece all rolled up in this vegan and gluten free meatless Greek pie.
Several weeks ago I was looking for information on food in the Mediterranean area and came across an obscure mention of a Greek pie from Naoussa consisting of tomatoes, onions, and walnuts where the chopped walnuts resemble ground hamburger meat. It intrigued me because my daughter Michaela and her roommate Madison recently decided to give up meat and go vegan so I thought it might be a good recipe to try for them.
However, I could not find anything else on this pie so I decided to come up with my own vegan and gluten free version of this meatless Greek pie. I added spinach for a little extra color and of course garlic for who can eat Italian or Greek food without garlic? I used the gluten free pie crust recipe from the last post, some oregano, fresh parsley and cilantro and I had myself a savory vegan and gluten free Greek pie.
My husband, Rod, is a meat lover and wants meat with every meal. In fact if he eats a meal without meat he is starving within an hour. So I was pleasantly surprised when he raved about this vegan and gluten free meatless Greek pie of tomatoes, onions, and walnuts.
- Pie Crust:
- ½ cup millet flour
- ½ cup quinoa flour
- ⅓ cup tapioca flour
- 1 teaspoon guar gum
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup coconut oil
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- ⅓ cup cold filtered water
- Filling:
- 2 cups walnuts, finely diced
- 4 small Tomatoes, cut in small chunks (about 3 cups)
- ½ cup yellow onion, finely diced
- 2 handfuls baby spinach, stems removed
- ¼ cup filtered water
- 1½ tablespoons dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- For crust - whisk together dry ingredients.
- Cut in the coconut oil until mixture is crumbly.
- Add the apple cider vinegar and cold water and mix until dough forms. (It will be pretty sticky.) Using hands, form dough into a ball, half the dough into two equal parts and set one aside.
- Sprinkle a sheet of parchment paper with millet flour. Flatten one ball of dough out and lay on parchment paper. Cover with second sheet of parchment paper and roll out the dough to the size of pie pan.
- Gently take the top piece of parchment paper off the crust. Spray the pie pan with cooking spray and set beside crust. Gently take the end of parchment paper with the crust that is furthest away from the pan and slide the crust onto the dish. Peel parchment paper off,
- Roll out top crust the same way and set aside.
- For filling - In large bowl mix walnuts, tomatoes, onions, spinach, water, oregano, parsley, cilantro, garlic, and salt together.
- Pour filling into 9 inch pie pan with bottom crust in it. Smooth filling out and set the pan next to the top crust.
- Gently take the end of the parchment paper with the crust that is furthest away from pie pan and slide crust over the pan. Peel the parchment paper off.
- Fold extra crust under. Cut two slits in middle of crust for ventilation.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.
