Squash and Cardamom Pie

Main dish or appetizer - you may choose. This is an unusual presentation of winter squash. It is coarsely grated (easily done with a food processor), mixed with sautéed onions, various spices, eggs, and put between an upper and lower crust of phyllo dough. A bit of feta (just a sprinkling) is added just below the upper crust. I am always nervous about phyllo but found a type that claimed to be "easy" -- it was a bit thicker and held together well. I used olive oil rather than butter, and the top crust was beautifully browned when it was done.

By this time of the year, after harvesting nearly 50 lbs of winter squash, my kids are tired of it. This recipe used different spices (the cardamom was spectacular, but I did double it), and its special presentation was a very welcome change.

This was the first recipe that caught my eye in this book. I'm so glad that I finally found the time to prepare it. Its long baking time (1.5h) and somewhat involved preparation makes it better for a weekend.