Shrek Pie ! (Includes Thermomix instructions)

Or for the adults, Spinach, Mozzarella, Sun-dried Tomato and Olive Slice!

Although this is not just for kids, we all know that if it's green, it's 'unclean' as far as most of them are concerned, and in order to entice children to eat things which are green, we have to give them 'special' names relating to their favourite characters - be that Shrek, Hulk, Kermit or whoever else is flavour of the month! I think you can probably see why this one is "Shrek"...!

My son (who is 12) told me that whenever he finds this in his packed lunch at school, he pumps his fist in the air and shouts "Shrek Pieeeeee!" to his friends - I'm not really sure what to make of this, but apparently some of his friends have tried it and liked it too, and it's kind of funny!

I use buckwheat flour in this but there's no reason you can't use plain gluten free flour, or even just plain (or wholemeal) wheat flour if you're not cooking gluten / grain free.

I baked this specifically to be gluten free and lunchbox friendly - and it will make a good 20 portions at 80 calories each (in case you're tempted!) as a side / with other savoury things to eat (I cut 10 rectangles from each dish - but then cut some of these in half to fit into lunchboxes, two a portion). If you're making this for dinner, it's more likely to serve 6-8 people with sides.

[Calories in square brackets, for any adults who are counting!]

Ingredients

• 225g fresh spinach [56]
• 50g sun-dried tomatoes, ready-to-eat (e.g. Merchant Gourmet) [80]
• 25g fresh basil leaves (2 large handfuls) [6]
• 1 medium red onion, peeled and cut into large chunks (100g)  [41]
• 2 medium red bell peppers, cut into eighths (approx 170g)  [53]
• 5 medium eggs, lightly beaten with a fork (50-60g each) [393]
• 100g grated mozzarella cheese (or you could use mild cheddar, nothing too salty) [294]
• 50g sun-dried tomato paste [134]
• 30g tomato puree (double concentrate) [30]
• 30g sliced or roughly chopped black olives (optional) [38]
• 2 tsp dried oregano [5]
• Ground black pepper to taste [1]
• Salt to taste
• Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional) [1]
• 150ml/g semi-skimmed milk [75]
• 90g buckwheat flour (or gluten free flour, or a mix) [302]
• 1 tsp baking powder (gluten free) [3]
• 2 tsp oil, to grease the dishes [90]

Equipment

Food processor, two pyrex / lasagne type dishes, approximately 8" x 10" each (if you use metal tins, line them with greaseproof baking paper)

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to Gas mark 6 / 180C fan oven and grease each dish with a teaspoon of oil.

2. Add the spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and basil to the food processor bowl, and pulse until quite finely chopped - you may have to stop and push the spinach leaves down a couple of times so they all get chopped up (Thermomix 5 seconds / Speed 6, then push spinach right down, then 5 seconds / Speed 8, scrape down, and 5 seconds / Speed 8 once more).

3. Add the onion and pepper to the food processor bowl, and chop to a medium to fine dice (Thermomix 5 seconds / Speed 5).

4. Mix together with all the other ingredients (I use 1/2 tsp black pepper, and 1 level tsp salt, but reduce or omit this for younger children as a few of the ingredients are salty) until thoroughly combined (Thermomix 1 minute / Reverse / Speed 2) and pour into your two prepared dishes to an equal depth.

5. Bake in the centre of the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until cooked through.

Tips

If you're cooking this to serve cold / for lunchbox treats etc. it's easiest to cool it down before slicing up and removing from the dishes. Run a spatula or knife around the sides first, if necessary.