I was glad for the humour of vegetables the other day: a tomato with scarring and a bulbous nose; an aubergine that also had a nose, or something else; courgettes the size of mini sausages next to courgettes the size of drummers’ forearms, which I suppose makes them marrows.
As I bent down and used a small serrated knife to cut the courgettes from the hairy stalks under their canopy of lush leaves, a mosquito walked up my leg, biting as she went. I was glad for that, too, because I know the friend whose garden it is would laugh and laugh at the wondrous collection of vegetables, and even more so at the bite on my bum. There were two of us sharing this precious bounty; I put my half in a hot plastic bag, put the bag in the car, then brought it home.
I like frying when it is so hot that even your eyeballs sweat while watching cubes of aubergine and courgette turn golden before they’re blotted on kitchen towel. I added the fried vegetables to tomatoes and onions cooked in olive oil. I used the mini sausage roll courgettes to make a raw salad, leaving me with two forearms, one of which was almost 500g, and ideal for this week’s recipe.
It is, in fact, a mix of two recipes: Rena Salaman’s Corfuian kolokythopita from her affectionate book Greek Food, and Anna del Conte’s torta di zucchine, both of which call for a many-layered filo pastry case to be filled with a mixture of courgette, rice, cheese, herbs and egg, then baked. The notable thing about both recipes is that the rice is not pre-cooked. It’s a method similar to the Roman-style rice-stuffed tomatoes I mention so often, in that it is raw rice that is mixed with the other filling ingredients, meaning a rest is of the upmost importance – two hours, ideally, to give the rice time to swell and soften in the muddle of courgette juices, egg and oil, before being tipped into the filo case. Rena suggests grating the courgettes, which does seem to help the rice swell, while Anna’s instruction to cut them into thin coins makes for a pleasing consistency and structure when baked. So I borrow from both writers, grating half the courgette and slicing the rest.
If you have baked the pie in a tin, leave it to cool a little before unclipping and transferring to a dish. If you have baked it in a casserole or Pyrex dish, serve directly from there while the pie is still warm, or at room temperature. A tomato salad goes very well with this subtle and delicious pie, ideally one featuring different varieties, complete with scars and noses, all chopped and tossed with dressing and basil.
Courgette, rice and herb filo pie
Serves 4
450g courgettes
1 white onion
125g arborio or similar medium-grain rice
5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing, or melted butter
3 tbsp grated parmesan, or crumbled feta
4 tbsp minced parsley, basil or dill
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
Salt and black pepper
150g filo pastry
Top and tail the courgettes, then grate half of them and slice the rest into coins about 2mm thick.
Peel and halve the onion, then slice it into thin half-moons. Put the courgettes, onion and rice in a bowl, add the oil, cheese, herbs, some salt and a grind of pepper. Beat the eggs lightly, add to the bowl, then mix thoroughly. Cover with a plate and leave to rest for two hours, mixing every half-hour or so.
Brush the inside of a 22cm springform tin or 1½-litre casserole or Pyrex dish with olive oil or melted butter. Unfold the filo pastry just enough to remove one sheet (keep the rest covered), then lay it in the bottom of the tin, pressing the pastry up the sides and allowing the ends to hang over the edges. Brush with olive oil or melted butter, lay a second sheet of filo on top of the first one, brush with oil, and so on, until you have four layers of filo.
Stir the courgette mixture, then spoon it into the prepared case. Fold the hanging edges of pastry over the top of the pie, brushing with oil as you go. Finish by rumpling a final oiled layer of filo across the top. Bake at 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4 for 45 minutes, until the top of the pie is deep gold and flaky.
