Cauliflower-Cheese Pie with Grated Potato Crust

Tasked with making a dinner for eight on a particularly hung-over Sunday in February, I made this dish as a side. I'm not sure I should actually review this dish as, in my foggy state, I forgot to add both the eggs and the milk to the dish. But since everyone seemed to enjoy it even without these ingredients, here it is!

Note - a real pie pan will be my next kitchen investment. In addition to the missing ingredients, this would have made this dish much much better as sadly the potatoes really stuck to this pan.


From The New Moosewood Cookbook
Serves 4 to 6

Convenience Tips: Use food processor with grating attachment to grate cheese, potato, and onion in that order. (No need to clean in between.) Prepare the filling while the crust bakes.

Crust:
2 cups (packed) grated raw potato
1/4 cup grated onion
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg white, lightly beaten
flour for your fingers
a little oil

Filling:
1 Tbs olive oil or butter
1 cup chopped onion
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
black pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp thyme
1 medium cauliflower, in small pieces
2 eggs (or 1 whole egg plus 1 egg white)
1/4 cup milk (lowfat ok)
1 cup (packed) grated cheddar cheese
paprika

1. Preheat over to 400F. Oil a 9-inch pie pan.

2. Combine grated potato and onion, salt, and egg white in a small bowl and mix well. Transfer to the pie pan and pat into place with lightly floured fingers, building up the sides into a handsome edge. (Those are Mollie's words, not mine - haha)

3. Bake for 30 minutes, then brush the crust with a little oil and bake it 10 more minutes. Remove from oven, and turn the temperature down to 375F.

4. Heat the olive oil or butter in a large skillet. Add onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and herbs and saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add cauliflower, stir, and cover. Cook until tender, stirring occasionally (about 8-10 minutes)

5. Spread half the cheese onto the baked crust (OK if its still hot). Spoon the sauteed vegetables on top, then sprinkle on the remaining cheese. Beat the eggs and milk together, and pour this over the top. Dust lightly with paprika.

6. Bake 35-40 minutes, or until set. Serve hot or warm.