Vegetarianism, with a side of cheese pie

My father was born at a time when his parents had decided to give up meat for ethical reasons. They later changed their minds after remembering that meat is tasty and delicious, and gave Dad the choice to switch to meat eating or stick with being a veggie. He was so unaccustomed to eating meat that it made him feel ill, and he’s been vegetarian his whole life as a result.

As tragic as his story is, growing up with a vegetarian father meant that our dinners would often be vegetarian to save having to cook two different meals. A lot of people are shocked when I tell them this, as if a meal can’t possibly be complete without meat in it. I remember I once had a choice between eating a chicken tikka sandwich, or a cheese and pickle sandwich. I chose the cheese. A friend of mine then asked if I was vegetarian, because he couldn’t understand why I might choose not to eat meat out of a personal preference rather than an ethically enforced choice.

Even these days when going veggie is a much more acceptable lifestyle choice, people seem to focus on finding a replacement for meat in a meaty dish rather than one that just doesn’t contain meat. After re-reading that sentence I can see how that may not make much sense, but I’m not editing it because, dammit, I know what I’m talking about.
This is a nice light dinner I made the other day. You’ll notice there is no meat in it, but it is still a proper meal.


Feta Cheese Pie
1 block of feta
1 tub of ricotta
2 eggs
Pepper
Choice of herbs (I would recommend just sticking to one type. Mint, thyme or rosemary all work well)
2 -3 large sheets filo pastry

Oil the bottom of a terracotta pot or small casserole dish. Place the filo pastry in the bottom leaving plenty of pastry overlapping the sides.

Mix the cheeses, eggs and herbs in a bowl, and pour into the pastry dish. Flip the excess pastry over so it covers the pie. Sprinkle olive oil over the top and season with salt and pepper.

Put in a preheated oven at around GM 6-7. Cook for 30 min, then take out and flip upside down onto a baking tray. Put back in the oven for a further 5-10 min. This will ensure its cooked all the way through and make the pastry at the bottom extra crispy.

This is great as a light lunch or supper. I add the ricotta to keep the filling smooth and make the feta stretch further, but if you have enough feta you can leave the ricotta out completely. Just make sure that the consistency of the pie filling is about the same as thick cake batter. If it’s too thin it will take ages to cook through properly.

I served this with salad and rosemary flowers, because I can be fancy if I want to.