By Alison Rose Munn
Summer is one of my favorite times of the year as it means the farmer’s markets are overflowing with delicious fruits and vegetables. As the summer draws to a close, I am trying to take advantage of the last few crops of the season. One food I find myself buying every week is summer squashes. There is so much I can do with them – from grilling, too adding them to pastas, pizzas, eads, and one of my favorites, a veggie pie.
I love anything with the word “pie” in it and when I first went gluten-free I was sad I might not get to enjoy them anymore. Turns out, pies are an easy dish for a gluten-free cook as there is only one ingredient substitution: a GF all-purpose flour in place of wheat flour. All the other ingredients remain the same. The dough can be a bit stickier than dough made with wheat flour so I always have plenty of GF flour on hand to make it manageable while rolling out the dough. Once the pie crust is made, any type of filling can be added, allowing for an endless variety of entrees and desserts!
In making one of my favorite dishes—a summer squash pie—there are two elements to prepare: the crust and the veggie mix. To make the best use of my time, I make the dough, then cut the vegetables and herbs while it is chilling. Then while the dough is baking on its own for 20 minutes, I will sauté vegetables.
A note about the herbs: fresh is always best but if you don’t have any on hand, dried works fine (even using an Italian blend rather than purchasing each herb individualy is okay).
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (I use Bob's Red Mill)
- extra flour for rolling dough
- 1 tsp sugar
- pinch of salt
- 2–3 tbsp parsley & oregano
- 8 tbsp cold unsalted butter
- 4–5 tbls cold water
1.) Combine flour, salt, sugar, and herbs. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender or a fork until you have pea sized pieces. 2.) Slowly mix in cold water just until the dough can be shaped into a ball. 3.) Chill for 30 minutes. 4.) Roll dough out on a floured surface and place in pie plate. 5. Line the top of the crust with aluminum foil or crust shield and bake alone for 20 minutes at 375 degrees.
Vegetable Mix:
- 4–5 cups zucchini & yellow squash
- 1 cup onion
- 2 tbsp parsley
- 1/4 tsp oregano
- 1/4 tsp basil
- 1/4 tsp garlic
- salt & pepper
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 2 eggs
1.) Chop the vegetables & onion. 2.) Sauté them in the butter over medium heat. 3.) Add herbs & spices. 4.) In a large bowl, mix cheese and eggs. 5.) Add the vegetables to the mix then pour into the prepared pie crust (remove the crust guard at this time). 6.) Bake at 375 degrees for apx. 30 minutes.
Serve warm or chilled!
