This spinach pie makes a great side dish.  I am always amazed at the way this spinach pie disappears during a dinner party; usually I am hoping for some leftovers to use as lunch.  It is a delicious way to eat lots of greens with crustless simplicity.  Modified from the Best Baked Spinach recipe on SmittenKitchen.com

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

• (2) bags 1 lb frozen organic leaf spinach, thawed
• 2 T. butter
• 2 T. olive oil
• 3 T. white rice flour
• 1 1/4 C. chicken or mushroom stock
• 1 1/2 C. grated Swiss cheese (6 oz.)
• 1 tsp. each salt & pepper
• 4 T. gluten free bread crumbs (see Tip 2 below)
• 2 T. olive oil

Pre-heat oven to 375°.  Lightly butter a ceramic or glass 9-inch pie pan.

Wrap the spinach in an old clean kitchen towel or double layer of cheese cloth. Squeeze the water out of the spinach by wringing the towel.  Melt the butter along with 2 T. of olive oil in a 12″ pan over medium high heat; add spinach.  Stir, cooking until any remaining moisture has boiled off and the spinach starts to stick to pan.

Lower the heat and sprinkle the rice flour over the spinach; stir and cook for 5 minutes.  Add the stock a little at a time, stirring and scraping up any stuck spinach.  When all liquid is added, simmer while occasionally stirring until the liquid has boiled off. Remove from the heat.

Stir 1 cup of the cheese (reserve the remaining 1/2 cup) and salt & pepper into spinach and then pour the spinach mixture into the pie pan.  Mix remaining cheese with the bread crumbs; sprinkle over spinach.  Drizzle with olive oil.

Bake 30 minutes or until brown on top.

Tip 1: Can be made a day ahead up to the point of baking, instead cover and refrigerate it.  Before baking, bring back up near room temperature to ensure that the pie plate does not crack in the oven.

Tip 2: my favorite gluten free bread crumbs by far are  Aleia’s Gluten Free Panko Crumbs