This Spelt Crostata is packed with a lemon-flavored spinach, onion, and feta cheese filling, and loaded with roasted butternut squash and potatoes. The addition of wholegrain spelt and pecan flour gives the crust a unique crunch and texture.
Source: The Free Dictionary
I got the inspiration for this bake while flipping through the pages of the December 2021 issue of Eating Well Magazine. Their Spinach, Feta & Root Vegetable Crostata is made with ground walnuts, whole grain, and all-purpose flours and topped with parsnips, red, and yellow beets.
Although their root vegetable crostata looked beautiful with all of the roasted red and yellow beets, I wanted to make a topping with vegetables harvested from my garden.
Using beets wasn’t an option because my beet harvest was almost nonexistent this year. I planted a bunch, but they didn’t perform very well in the raised beds in my home garden. The beets were really small. I think they need a different environment to flourish so I plan to try again in another spot.
In the meantime, I had a different vegetable in mind for this crostata – butternut squash.
My butternut squash plants grew well in my home garden and my community garden plot this year. My family and I enjoyed them in several dishes, and I even had enough to give some away.
I had saved a couple for something special so when I saw the photo of the crostata, I knew this was what I needed to make with the squash.
The crust in the magazine looked very tasty; however, for my version, I chose to increase the amount of whole grain from 50% to 67% and use home-milled spelt flour.
I considered using ground walnuts but remembered I had an unused bag of pecan flour sitting in the freezer so I added that instead.
I was very pleased with the results of this bake. The spelt and pecans provide a deliciously nutty flavor and crunch to the crust.
This delicious spinach pie with roasted vegetables is a meal in and of itself. The cheesy spinach filling reminds me of spinach quiche even though the dish doesn’t include any eggs.
The crust is a bit crunchier than a quiche crust, but the spinach flavor takes your senses on a trip back to quiche, or at least it did mine.
I enjoyed the lemony flavor of the feta/spinach filling and the sweetness of the roasted potatoes. It’s a mouthful and very satisfying. You could enjoy a slice as a side dish or pair it with a salad, but I found that just eating a wedge for lunch was very satisfying. I will be making this crostata again. I’m envisioning all sorts of toppings and nut flour combinations.
This crostata might look a little involved, but when you take it one step at a time, it’s really easy, especially if you make the crust, prepare the filling, and roast the vegetables a day ahead.
Then, all you need to do on the day you plan to serve the crostada is roll out the dough, assemble the pie, and bake it.
Spelt and Pecan Crostata with Butternut Squash and Potatoes
- Yield: 1 Crostata 1x
Description
This Spelt and Pecan Crostata is packed with a lemon-flavored spinach, onion and feta cheese filling, and loaded with roasted butternut squash and potatoes.
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup whole grain spelt flour (I used home-milled)
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup pecan flour (or 3/4 cup coarsely ground nuts)
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 cup water
- 6 Tbsp. butter, cold, cut in small cubes
Filling
- 1 medium-large butternut squash, peeled & cubed (~ 2 cups)
- 1 large russet potato, peeled & cubed
- 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled & cubed (I used white sweet potatoes)
- 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 3/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper, divided
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
- 1 10–ounce package frozen spinach, thawed
- 5 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
- 1 lemon, zest and juice
- 2 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves or 2 tsp. dried
- 1 large egg, beaten with 1 Tbsp. water
Instructions
Day 1 – Prepare the crust
- The directions that follow are for mixing the dough by hand, but you could also mix the dough for the crust in a food processor.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients – all-purpose flour, whole-grain spelt flour, pecan flour (or ground nuts), and salt.
- Using your fingers or a pastry cutter, work in the cold butter and olive oil until lumps the size of peas are obtained.
- Add ¼ cup water and work into the dough until evenly moistened. Gradually add more water, 1-2 tablespoons at a time, if needed, until you are able to squeeze the dough without it crumbling apart.
- Form the dough into a ball and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator.
Roast the vegetables
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. with racks positioned in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment.
- Toss the cubed squash and potatoes with 1-1 ½ Tbsp. olive oil and 3/8 tsp. salt. Add fresh or dried thyme, if desired. Arrange the vegetables on the baking sheet.
- Roast the vegetables on the lower rack until tender and lightly browned, about 40 minutes. (I baked them until they were almost done to make sure they wouldn’t be mushy when added to the pie.)
Prepare the spinach filling
- In a medium skillet, heat the remaining ½ Tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and cook until tender, stirring frequently, about 5-8 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Remove the onion mixture from the heat.
- Squeeze the thawed spinach really dry. Stir the spinach into the onion mixture, and let cool.
- Mix the feta, lemon zest, lemon juice, and thyme until thoroughly combined. You can use a food processor to break up the feta crumbles but a potato masher works as well.
- Stir the blended feta/lemon mix into the cooled spinach/onion mixture and set aside.
Day 2 – Assemble and bake the crostata
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before rolling. (My dough was a little hard even after letting it rest so I added a couple of splashes of water before rolling it out.)
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a 13-inch circle. Carefully transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet. Use a metal scraper, if needed, to gently lift the edges of the dough off of the work surface.
- Spread the spinach mixture over the dough, leaving a border of about 1 ½ inches. Place the roasted vegetables on top. Fold the edges of the dough in toward the center. Overlap the edges as needed. Brush the edges of the crust with the egg wash.
- Bake the crostata on the lower rack for 20 minutes. Then, move to the upper rack and bake until the crust is browned and the filling is set, about 15-20 minutes, or longer if needed
- Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing. Best served warm but can also be enjoyed at room temperature.
Notes
This crostata might seem a little involved, but when you take it one step at a time, it’s really easy, especially if you make the crust, prepare the filling, and roast the vegetables a day ahead. Then, all you need to do on the day you plan to serve it, is roll out the dough, assemble the pie, and bake it.
The crostata reheats well and will keep for several days. Wrap in foil and store in the refrigerator.
Adapted from the Spinach, Feta & Root Vegetable Crostata in the December 2021 Issue of Eating Well Magazine.
- Category: Crostata
Happy Baking!
Cathy
Leave a Reply