I made this pie twice last week and in both times I almost ate the whole thing just by myself. It’s THAT good. Well, I also happen to love broccoli so, there’s that.

 

 

If you are a long-time follower of this blog, I think you know how much I love using phyllo for pies – sweet and savoury. In fact, I almost always use phyllo for pie making these days. The crispiness and the smaller amount of butter than normal pie crusts make phyllo pies lighter.

 

 

 

The reason why I made the pie twice in a week is, though, not exactly because I loved it the first time (well, I did love it, yes). It’s because I wanted to try making it both with and without cooking the broccoli.

 

 

The first time I made it, I used raw broccoli and put it directly in the filling with other ingredients. I liked it a lot, because it was cooked but it still had a little bite to it. I liked the texture.

 

The second time I made it, I cooked broccoli just a little, just to soften up a little. A few minutes in boiling salted water, that’s it. And then I added the drained broccoli to the filling. The result in baked pie was of course softer broccoli, but because I didn’t cook it all the way in the boiling water, it still maintained its texture and didn’t get all mushy. And I must admit that digesting it was easier. Therefore, I think I will go with this second option, but it is perfectly ok to use raw broccoli. Enjoy!
—

 

Ingredients:

 

Difficulty: Medium
(makes 1 pie in 24cm pie dish)

 

Printable PDF-recipe (no photos)

 

90 gr melted and slightly cooled butter, plus a bit more butter to grease the pie dish
8 phyllo sheets
3 eggs
1 dl + 4 tsp (or 1/2 cup) milk
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 cloves of garlic, mashed
5 dl (or 2 cups) grated cheese (I used a mixture of cheddar and gouda)
1 medium broccoli*, cut into small florets**

 

*Mine was about 550 gr. as a whole.
**As I wrote above, there are 2 ways to use broccoli: 1. put raw broccoli directly in the pie, but remember to cut the florets small and even sizes so that they bake well and evenly. 2. bring a pot of salted water to a boil, then put the (again small sized) broccoli florets in the boiling water just for a few minutes, until they start to soften but not fully cooked. After that, drain and add to the filling. I found this option easier to digest, but both ways were delicious nonetheless.

 

—

 

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a 24cm pie dish and put aside.

 

 

2. Prepare the phyllo crust using melted butter brushed between layers as a “glue”. Make sure that a little butter is left for step 7. The full steps with photos can be seen in this recipe: https://mydearkitcheninhelsinki.com/2018/09/23/pumpkin-pie-with-phyllo-crust-autumn-continues/

 

 

 

3. In a medium bowl, put eggs and whisk well.

 

 

 

4. Add milk, salt, pepper and mashed garlic and continue to whisk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Add grated cheese and whisk.

 

 

 

6. Add raw or slightly cooked broccoli, mix (I switched to a spatula at this point).

 

 

 

7. Transfer the filling into the prepared pie crust. Brush the sides of crust with remaining butter. Put in the oven, in medium rack, and bake for about 50 to 60 minutes, until the crust is nicely browned and the filling is not too liquid. If your crust is getting too browned too early before the filling is baked enough, cover with an aluminium folio midway through. Let the baked pie cool down for about 10 minutes before serving. The leftovers taste great as well, but keep in the fridge. Enjoy!