Mushroom pie with walnuts

(Ideal for fasting)

https://www.argiro.gr/recipe/nistisimi-manitaropita/

Ingredients 

1 pack phyllo or 6 homemade phyllos
½  cup olive oil
1kg fresh mushroom mix, sliced
3 dried onions (thinly sliced)
1 ground garlic clove
1 seedless diced tomato
salt
pepper
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
1 ½ cup walnuts, thickly chopped
2 tbsp sesame seeds or ground flaxseed
a bit of nutmeg or thinly sliced parsley for taste 

Preparation

Bake two phyllos till the juices evaporate so that the taste can be maintained. Layer them on two trays and bake them in a preheated oven at 180ºC for 10’, till completely dry and golden brown. Let it cool. Crush them into pieces. 

Prepare the mushrooms. I used a mix of fresh wild mushrooms, white, and porto bello. Slice them and leave them aside. 

Heat the oil in a big, deep pan or a low pot, over high heat. Add the olive oil and the mushrooms, leaving them to cook for 4-5’, till they absorb the juices and get golden brown. Add the onions and garlic and sauté them till they look wilted (about 3-4’). Add the tomato (without the juice), salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Boil the stuffing for a few minutes, till the juices are all absorbed. 

After letting the stuffing cool for a bit, add the walnuts and sesame seeds and stir. Nutmeg goes great with mushrooms, so add according to taste (2-3 pinches). Alternatively, replace nutmeg with parsley. 

Oil a 40cm pan and layer two phyllos, sprinkling olive oil in-between. 

Sprinkle the broken baked leaves and pour the mushroom stuffing on top. 

Roll the edges of the phyllos over the stuffing. Cover the pie with the two remaining phyllos, sprinkling olive oil between the two layers. Make sure to scrunch the phyllo layers. Carve the surface of the pie, brush it with olive oil, and sprinkle a bit of water. 

Bake in a preheated oven at 180ºC for an hour, using the heating elements, till the pie turns golden brown and can be removed from the pan. 

Additional secrets for a tasty mushroom pie: 

  • Baked leaves will absorb the juices of the stuffing, ensuring that the pie remains crunchy. Walnut acts as a mincemeat replacement, both in taste and texture. Scrunching the phyllos helps carry the heat through to the center of the pie and bake it perfectly.
  • The mushrooms used in a stuffing should never be washed, since they tend to absorb humidity, which they release in the stuffing, making it impossible for the pie to dry properly and the phyllos to remain crunchy.
  • Let the pie cool for 10’ after taking it out of the oven, then serve.
  • During the last 20’, turn off the top heating element so that the bottom of the pie can be baked to perfection.
  • If you’re using a fan-forced oven, bake at 160ºC on the middle rack.