FILO EGG PIE

A friend of mine was having a brunch and asked if I could bring a quiche or some type of egg dish. Since quiche is so 1990s, I started to scour the internet to find something new and fun. I noticed a few videos of people using filo dough wrapped as fans to make a crunchy crust for an egg pie. It seemed like a fun technique, so I gave it whirl using the ingredients I love. It was a big hit! I hope you love it too.

INGREDIENTS (serves 6)

4 strips of bacon

1 onion, thinly sliced

Olive oil, as needed

8 cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 ½ cups gruyere, large grate

8 eggs

3 Tablespoons milk

1 package, filo dough (sheets)

½ cup parmesan, small grate

salt and pepper to taste

chili flakes to taste

2 scallions, chopped

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large skillet over medium heat, render the bacon. When browned, remove from skillet and set aside on a paper towel. When cool, crumble bacon, set aside.

Pour out half of the bacon drippings and reserve. Sauté the onion in the remainder of the bacon drippings. If too dry, add more drippings or olive oil as needed. Allow onions to start caramelizing—about 6-8 minutes—then add the mushrooms and sauté until wilted, about another 3 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and chili flakes to taste. Again, if too dry add olive oil as needed.

Combine the mushrooms, onions, crumbled bacon and ½ the scallions. Place the mixture in a greased 9” circular baking dish. Make sure the baking dish is at least 2 ½” deep. Allow mixture to cool, then sprinkle the gruyere over the mixture to cover.

Beat the eggs and milk together. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Take the filo sheets and fold them lengthwise as if making a fan. Then, starting from one end, roll up the fan into a circle and place in the center of the baking dish. Continue making the filo fans and start wrapping them around the first one until you have filo fans covering the entire dish. Don’t overstuff the filo sheets. Keep them a little loose.

Pour the egg mixture evenly over the filo. Using a sharp knife, gently Poke a few holes in the filo or move the filo slightly to allow the egg mixture to spread out evenly. Sprinkle ½ of the parmesan on top.

Place in oven and bake for 1 hour. After 25 minutes, start checking to see if the top is turning too brown or burning. Keep an eye on it. If it is getting too brown too quickly, lightly cover the dish with aluminum foil.

Allow to cool for fifteen minutes. Cut into 6 pie pieces. Garnish with the remainder of the chopped scallions and parmesan.