Rustic Tempeh Spinach Pie

Now I'm not sure about you, but even though I'm not a vegan or  a vegetarian, I tend to gravitate towards the food and the recipes.  Never one to be a big meat eater, I never buy it, rarely eat it, and instead tend to buy tofu and tempeh. Don't get me wrong I loooove fish and seafood and will eat it a plenty if the chance arises, but other meats just don't float my boat so 

well.  So anyways, I came across a great vegan food blog, Have Cake Will Travel with some great recipes and thought I'd give this pie a try. 

It was pretty easy, the dough especially. I didn't have orange marmalade so I used Quince Jelly instead which came out fine. I think next time I would tweak this recipe and play with ingredients a bit more. I found there was too much orange zest so I have made changes to the recipe below. I would Maybe add some walnuts or pinenuts. Maybe de-veganize it and add some feta cheese, some sundried tomatoes. It's an okay pie on it's own but it would definately use an added flavour kick. So use it as a base and experiment from there.

Rustic Spinach Tempeh Pie

For the filling:
1 teaspoons orange zest, about 2 oranges
1/2 cup (120 ml) fresh orange juice, about 2 oranges
2 tablespoons (40 g) all-fruit orange marmalade
1 tablespoon (15 ml) toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons (30 ml) soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, grated
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional, to taste
2 teaspoons ground ginger
8 ounces (227 g) tempeh, crumbled
1 tablespoon (15 ml) peanut oil
2 cups (380 g) frozen chopped spinach

For the crust:
3 tablespoons (48 g) tahini
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/4 cups (150 g) light spelt flour
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon (75 ml) fresh orange juice ( I used water, you can also use milk)

To make the filling:
In a medium bowl, whisk zest, juice, marmalade, sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, optional red pepper flakes, and ginger.
Stir in tempeh. Marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes, stirring once halfway through.
Heat oil in a large saucepan. Cook marinated tempeh, along with marinade, on medium heat until it browns up, for about 8 minutes. Add spinach and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C, or gas mark 5). Line a rimless baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat, such as Silpat.

To make the crust:
In your stand mixer or food processor, combine tahini, salt, and flour. Add orange juice, 1 tablespoon (15 ml) at a time, until dough forms.
Shape into a disk. Roll out dough to approximately 11 x 10 inches (28 x 25 cm), a little over 1/8-inch (3-mm) thick.
Transfer onto prepared baking sheet.
Place filling on top of the prepared crust, leaving about 1 inch (2.5 cm) from the edges: the filling will pile up high. Level it, fold the edges of the pie crust up and over so that the filling is visible: it’ll look rustic, and that’s the point.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the top of the crust is golden brown.
Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Yield: 4 servings