Artichoke Pie

Last night we had artichoke pie from Greek Food and Beyond by Peter Minakis for our Meatless Monday meal. I thought it was very good! Kevin thought it was just good. I added my leftover roasted veggies (organic carrots, leeks, onions, garlic, and parsnips; and conventional bell pepper and zucchini) from making the veggie lasagna on Sunday and Kevin isn't a fan of roasted parsnips. He thinks they're too sweet, while I think they're becoming one of my favorite veggies. He thought the bites without the parsnips were pretty good, but the bites with the parsnips were gross. He said he'd also have preferred some mozzarella cheese on top instead of all gruyere. This makes a lot. I cut the recipe in half, but still ended up having to use my 8x10 pan.

Artichoke Pie
(Ταβερνίσια αγκιναρόπιτα της Τήνου)

a buttered 13X9X2" bakiing dish
1/4 cup olive oil
3 large onions, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large loaf of rustic bread, crust removed & cut into thick slices
2 tsp. of fresh thyme
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
approx. dozen artichoke hearts, cut into bite-sized pieces, poached if fresh (I used the canned ones)
1 1/2 grated Graviera cheese (Gruyere is fine)
3 cups of Bechamel Sauce (or 1/2 of Peter's recipe - see below)
thyme sprigs for garnish

Melt the olive oil in a large skillet and add your onions and garlic and saute over medium-low heat for about 20-30 minutes or until soft and translucent. Add your fresh thyme and season with salt and pepper. Allow to cool and set aside.

Pre-heat your oven to 400F. Now make your Bechamel sauce as per my instructions with the 1 cup of grated Graviera and set aside and keep warm.

Spoon some Bechamel Sauce on the bottom of the baking dish and lay your first layer of bread slices. Now spoon half of your sauteed onions over the bread, followed by half the artichoke pieces, some Bechamel sauce and some grated cheese. Repeat with the remaining ingredients in the same order.

Bake until tender and the top is golden-brown, about 30-40 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, slice into portioned squares and serve.

Bechamel Sauce

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
5 cups of warm milk, no lighter than 2%
4 eggs
3/4 cup of Kefalotiri or Romano cheese (I used parmesan b/c that's what I had)
salt to taste
pinch of grated nutmeg

Put the butter in a pot to melt. Add the flour, stirring quickly with a wooden spoon to prevent lumps from forming. Stir & cook the flour/butter mixture to a golden color.

Pour in the milk while stirring and then and salt to taste, stirring the mixture constantly. When it thickens, turn off the heat and add your cheese and slowly pour in your eggs, continue stirring.

Add your nutmeg and stir.