Spinach Jack-O'-Lantern Hand Pies
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 pound baby spinach leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 cup whole-milk ricotta
- 2 tablespoons finely shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/4 teaspoon natural orange food coloring (or a mix of yellow and red to make orange)*
- 1 pkg. (14.1 oz.) refrigerated pie pastry, at room temperature
- Preheat oven to 400u0b0. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Heat oil in a large deep-frying pan over medium heat. Add onion, a pinch each of salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Add spinach and nutmeg and cook, stirring occasionally, until spinach is wilted, about 5 minutes. Pour cooked spinach into a fine-mesh strainer and drain well, pressing to release as much liquid as possible.
- Coarsely chop spinach mixture. Scrape into a medium bowl and stir in ricotta and parmesan. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
- In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk, 1 tsp. water, and 2 or 3 drops food coloring. The egg wash should be deep orange; add more coloring if needed. Set aside.
- Unroll pie pastry from package onto a lightly floured work surface. With a 4- by 5-in. pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter, cut 8 pumpkins from pastry. Spoon 1/4 cup spinach mixture into middles of 4 pumpkins and spread to 1/4 in. from edge. Brush exposed dough lightly with water. Top filled pumpkins with remaining 4 pumpkin cutouts and crimp edges with a fork to seal.
- Set pumpkin hand pies on prepared baking sheet and brush with colored egg wash. Cut a jack-o'-lantern face into each. Bake pies until brown and crusty, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on a rack, then chill in an airtight container. Bring to room tem-perature to serve.
- *We used India Tree Nature's Colors, available at well-stocked grocery stores and on amazon.com.
- Make ahead: Up to 2 days, chilled airtight.
extravirgin olive oil, onion, kosher salt, baby spinach, nutmeg, wholemilk ricotta, parmesan cheese, egg yolk, natural orange food coloring, pastry
Taken from www.myrecipes.com/recipe/spinach-jack-o-lantern-hand-pies (may not work)