Scallion, spinach & ricotta pie

Next weekend will mark the first anniversary of Weekly Herb Blogging, Kalyn, WHB's founder, invites us "coming" over to her Kalyn Kitchen and sharing our dishes that feature our very favorite herb, then she'll tabulate results and announce the most preferred herb! C'mon over and have some fun! Ok back to this week of WHB, I feature scallion (or spring onion called by some British) in western cooking ... psst! I'm gonna use it in a traditional Chinese snack next week.

Scallion always reminds me my two aunts, my mom's sisters. One is a hard-cored herb eater... coriander soup (coriander + broth, that is!), meat buried in a pound of sauted scallion, etc; while the other would scream at the top of her lung once my grandma started peeling garlic! So on the dining table there were always two opposite camps of dishes. I had no intention to sterile my taste buds, ok, let me take a bit of sauted scallion then ... mmm, where's that harsh spicyness (when it's raw, to me anyway)?? What's now warming my palate was a mild onion-y aroma yet distinctive sweetness! So ever since... look my scallion pie and pizza on the sidebar, I don't need to elaborate how I love this herb :)

Recipe for scallion, spinach & ricotta pie (yield for 6 - 8 people as a starter)

ingredients:

• 9 phyllo sheets
• a pack of frozen spinach
• 1 medium shallots, finely diced
• 1 - 2 stalks of scallion, finely dice, including the white part
• about a cup of fresh ricotta cheese
• one egg
• a few spoonfuls of other cheese of your choice
• some milk to adjust the consistency
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Defroze the spinach. In a large skillet, heat up some oil, fry shallots over low heat for a minute, saute spinach for a couple minutes over medium/medium-high heat, salt to taste. Scoop into a sieve, and press the spinach and drain as much water as you can.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix spinach, scallion, ricotta (and other cheeses if used), an egg until combine, add little milk if necessary. Salt and pepper to taste.
3. Line a 8"x12" ((20cmx30cm) baking tray, lay down six sheets of phyllo (according to the manufacturer's direction). Spread the spinach mixture, on top cover with three phyllo sheets. Fold down the sides and trim if necessary.
4. Bake the pie in a pre-heat oven (350F) for about 30 minutes, or it turns golden brown.