Gluten Free Spinach Pie celebrating Corelli's Mandolin for #BookClubCookBookCC

I am still reading Corelli's Mandolin and I am enjoying it but it is slow going because I have a house full of company this month.  My brother, his wife, daughter in law and granddaughter are here from California.  Our son, Chuck, was here for a week from his duty station in Portsmouth, VA.  So we have been entertaining, sightseeing, being entertained, and living life to the fullest.  This leaves little time for reading.  I do pick up Corelli's Mandolin when I retire at night but I think I keep reading the same few sentences before crashing into oblivion.  I am going to finish this book, I am just not sure that I will finish it this month.

I am reading this selection for our Book Club Cookbook Cooking Club started one year ago by my friend, Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla.  Under Cam's guidance we have worked our way through twelve of the books featured in the Book Club Cookbook.  Some of us have chosen to read the books, some have chosen to read some of the books and some of us have chosen to just read the cookbook.  Each month we get together and share a recipe that we were inspired to create or recreate from these sources.

This month, being our last month, is once again being hosted by Cam.  You can read her invitation post and enter a giveaway for your very own Book Club Cookbook here .  Cam included in the invitation post the recipe for Spankopita as found in the Book Club Cookbook.  I decided to make Spinach Pie as well for this month's event, but having company that is gluten intolerant, I went on a search for a gluten free version.  I found this recipe at Ditch the Carbs, a blog written by Libby.

I adapted the recipe slightly by using dill instead of mint.  I made the crust with brown rice flour instead of coconut flour, because I grabbed the wrong bag from the pantry and added it without looking first. I did not prebake the crust as it was pretty thin and I didn't think it would be necessary. I was right. I was a little nervous because I LOVE the Spinach Pie recipe I normally use and it was from this recipe that I got the idea to add dill instead of mint to this recipe.

The crust went together in a moment and was easily pressed into the bottom of a deep dish pie pan.  

Using a stand mixer made short work of the filling.  I poured that over the crust and placed it in a preheated oven for about 45 minutes.

The filling puffed up and browned a bit.  A knife inserted into the center removed cleanly.  I removed it from the oven to a cooling rack.  I was thrilled when I had my first bite...it was savory with a bit of a tang to it from the cream cheese.  I am very happy I added the dill because I love the bright fresh flavor it imparts to spinach pie but I'm sure the mint would be good as well, perhaps making it even a bit more savory.

It is more of a quiche, I would say, than your traditional spinach pie.  We enjoyed a piece right from the oven, piping hot for breakfast and then I cut up the rest of the pie into bite size pieces and served it, room temperature, as part of an appetizer table that I set out after we had our parents cremains interred into our church cemetery.  They graced the table along with shrimp cocktail, cheese and crackers, veggies and hummus and chips and nuts that we nibbled on as we waited for the food to arrive that I had ordered in for lunch.  It was nice knowing that there was plenty of tasty treats for everyone to enjoy even those who suffer from gluten intolerances.

Gluten Free Spinach Pie

adapted from Ditch the Carbs

Crust:

1 c. almond meal

1 egg

1 T. brown rice flour

salt and pepper to taste

Filling:

1 (16 oz) bag chopped frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

6 eggs

1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese. softened

1/4 c. diced sweet onion

6 oz. crumbled Feta cheese

large handful of chopped dill

pepper to taste

Place the almond meal, egg, rice flour, salt and pepper in a bowl.  Mix together with a fork until combined.  Press into the bottom of a deep dish pie plate.

Place spinach, eggs, cream cheese, onion, feta, dill and pepper into the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until combined but with some chunks of cream cheese and feta remaining.  Pour over crust and bake in a preheated 350* oven for 45-50 minutes, until puffed and slightly browned and a knife inserted in the center removes cleanly.  Print Recipe