So Many Dishes

I love pie. I’ve posted enough pie recipes and pictures that I suspect you’ve figured that out by now. Fruit pie, quiche—put it in a crust and I’m a happy camper. I’ve seen a lot of recipes recently for crustless quiche, and my reaction is always, what’s the point?

I’ve been intrigued by a veggie pie recipe that I saved from the Washington Post food section a couple months ago, and we decided to put it on the menu this week. What makes it different is that the crust is made from frozen has brown potatoes. Hash browns aren’t something we normally eat, unless we’ve gone out for brunch, so it sounded like a treat. The entire dish turned out to be special.

I can throw a scratch crust together pretty easily, but nowhere near as quickly as this crust went together. You start by thawing and draining the potatoes, squeezing as much water out of them as possible. You then dump them into the pie plate, mix with melted butter, and press into the bottom and sides of the pan to form the crust. Easy, and very little mess. I used a few kitchen towels to blot the liquid from the potatoes, but there was no mixing bowl or pastry board to clean.

The filling was easy to assemble, too. The recipe calls for asparagus, but lists several substitutions. We’d planned to use asparagus, but there was none to be had when Ken and I went to the market. I decided to substitute broccoli, and it really was the perfect choice. Broccoli and cheese are a classic combination. I left out the minced onion, but I didn’t miss it.

Hash Brown-Crust Veggie Pie

• 3 cups shredded frozen hash browns, defrosted
• 4 tablespoons salted butter, melted
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 7 ounces (1 1/4 cups) asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces, or chopped broccoli
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup minced onion

Position rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees.

Place the drained hash browns between two clean kitchen towels and squeeze as much water from them as possible. In a 9-inch pie plate, toss the hash browns with the melted butter to evenly coat. Press the pita into the bottom and up the sides of the pie dish to form a crust. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the potatoes start to brown and crisp around the edges.

While the crust is baking, in a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, cayenne, garlic powder, and nutmeg until combined. Add the asparagus or broccoli, cheese, and onion, and stir to combine.

When the crust is ready, remove the pie dish from the oven and pour the egg mixture into the crust. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Set the pie plate on a large sheet pan and return to the oven. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until eggs are set, with no jiggle when you shake the dish, and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let the pie cool for 5 minutes, then slice and serve. Makes 4 servings.

We both enjoyed this, although, when we ate the leftovers for lunch today, Ken said that he really still prefers my pastry crust. I probably do, too, but when I want a shortcut, this is a delicious alternative.

Happy eating!