This is a delicious dish which uses the gourmet product called Filo Dough…which comes already prepared in frozen packages. It can be made with any variety of veggies or vegan cheese you have on hand and is a versatile dinner dish, served warm or cold. It is always a crowd pleaser and can be prepared way ahead of time and baked just before company comes. I love to serve it because everyone enjoys the riot of flavors and textures it contains. Note: i made this for some of my favorite Yoga friends and hence the design in the picture is a Sanskrit “OM” sign. Please enjoy!

Vegetable Filo Pie

Ingredients: Chop “Organic” veggies into small pieces:

1 medium onion

2 shallots

1/2 green pepper

1/2 red pepper

3 carrots

1 &1/2 cup broccoli

1& 1/2 cup cauliflower

1 package baby spinach

4 medium sliced white mushrooms

3 cloves garlic pressed with small amounts of fresh herbs sautéed such as parsley, cilantro, and basil to add to mixture.

Steam/sauté each of the veggies in good quality oil spray with a little vegan broth in the above order, removing each of them to a large bowl when they are individually at the height of their color and slightly soft. Hint: Add more broth one tbsp. at a time to facilitate the cooking. Mix together when all are slightly cooked and set aside. Optional veggies to add are string beans in small segments and peas either fresh or frozen.

Prepare the cheese sauce. Melt 2 tbsp. margarine or vegan butter (Miyoko’s brand is delicious). Add and mix slowly 2 tbsp. ww pastry flour. Make a roux with 1 cup soy or other nut milk mixing well. Add 1 cup vegan grated cheese shreds (cheddar or monterey jack.) Mix well until all ingredients are blended. Set aside.

To prepare Filo dough, I used frozen “Fillo Factory- Organic” brand, defrosted in refrigerator overnight. Then let dough sit at room temperature outside of the refrigerator for 1 and 1/2 hours in plastic wrapping out of the box. Handle carefully when open. Now cut sheets in half to fit the size of the baking pan. Inportant: When working with Filo sheets cover the entire package with plastic wrap or aluminum foil to keep sheets from drying out during preparation, re-covering the unused portion each time you take out a few sheets.

Now for the assembly. Melt another 2-3 tbsp. of margarine or vegan butter. Using a brush, Coat the bottom of the dish with a small amount of butter Carefully, with dry hands, remove 3 sheets and line the bottom of the pan and using the brush coat the top of the leaves with the butter. Add another 3 leaves and layer 1/3 of the veggie mixture with 1/3 of the cheese sauce. Continue using the butter as an adhesive agent between the filo layers until all the veggies and sauce are used (i used 3 sections of veggies).Top the uppermost sheets with sesame seeds and or dried parsley to finish. Cover with aluminum foil. Note: depending on how many filo layers you use, most of the package with be utilized. Unused layers can be wrapped well in plastic wrap and foil and refrozen for later use, perhaps for a dessert dish using fresh fruit, good with apples or berries.

Bake covered at 375 for 45-50 minutes, uncover and bake 10 minutes longer or until top is nicely browned and the sides begin to shrink away from the baking dish. Let cool  a bit to cut easily into portions.  Can be served with a cheesy sauce on top of cut portion or good just like it is with a green salad.                

                          Let the feast begin!