Do you know when you need to use up leftovers from previous recipes? Don’t throw them away! As you know, I always seek creative solutions for smart recycling, and this vegetable pie is exactly that! It’s a perfect fridge-cleaner, as I used up all the vegetables I had left, like the purple cabbage, the carrots, the potatoes, and the cherry tomatoes. I cut them into matchsticks and created a sort of savory tart, taking advantage of the good sheep ricotta I had bought for another recipe! Of course, you can take inspiration and vary the combination according to your tastes or needs, perhaps substituting the purple cabbage with Savoy cabbage or white cabbage! The result will be a truly surprising and delicious second course, which you can prepare well in advance and serve for the Easter lunch, maybe cut into squares as an appetizer to accompany a drink or as a main dish for a simple but nutritious dinner!
If you love experimenting with vegetables, try these recipes:
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 25 Minutes
- Portions: 6 servings
- Cooking methods: Electric Oven, Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter, Easter
Ingredients:
- 4 potatoes (medium)
- 1/2 purple cabbage
- 2 carrots
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 shallot
- 8 cherry tomatoes
- 12.3 oz sheep ricotta
- 1 egg
- 3 oil-packed anchovies
- 7/8 cup water (hot)
- 3 tablespoons Sicilian pecorino (grated)
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
- as needed breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 2 tablespoons butter (for greasing)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- as needed salt
- as needed pepper
Tools:
⚠ THIS RECIPE CONTAINS ONE OR MORE AFFILIATE LINKS. The products I recommend are the ones I use in my recipes; purchasing them through my blog helps support me and my work, and it won’t cost you anything extra! Thank you!
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Peeler
- 1 Knife
- 1 Wok
- 1 Ladle
- 1 Lid
- 1 Baking Pan
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Whisk
- 1 Spatula
Steps:
Start by washing and peeling the potatoes and the carrots. Then, with a sharp knife, cut both vegetables into matchsticks. Slice the purple cabbage into thin strips, quarter the cherry tomatoes, and finely chop the onion and shallot.
In a large non-stick pan, sauté the shallot and onion with two generous dashes of oil and the sprig of rosemary.
After a couple of minutes, add the potatoes and carrots and let them flavor for another couple of minutes.
At this point, add the purple cabbage and mix well.
Add a little hot water, cover with a lid, and cook for about 15 minutes, adding more water only if necessary. I used approximately 200 ml.
After this time, also add the cherry tomatoes and continue cooking for another 5 to 8 minutes.
At the end of cooking, season with salt and pepper to taste.
Turn off the heat, flavor with some fresh parsley roughly chopped, and let it cool.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the well-drained ricotta with the egg, a pinch of salt, and the nutmeg.
You should get a smooth and homogeneous cream.
Transfer the now-cooled vegetables into a 9×7-inch baking pan, previously greased and dusted with breadcrumbs.
Cover the vegetables completely with the ricotta cream with the help of a kitchen spatula.
Then add the oil-packed anchovies, cut into small strips, slightly embedding them into the ricotta cream, and finally sprinkle the surface with pecorino and grated Parmesan and bake in a preheated oven at 375°F for about 30 minutes or until lightly golden.
Remove from the oven and let it cool a few minutes before cutting into portions.
And voilà…your vegetable pie with ricotta and anchovies is ready to be enjoyed!
Bon Appetit from La Cucina di FeFè!
More shots…
Storage
👉 You can store the vegetable pie with ricotta and anchovies in the fridge in an airtight container, preferably glass, for up to 3-4 days.
Tips, notes, variations, and suggestions
🟣 As mentioned above, the recipe is quite versatile and lends itself to various interpretations: you can therefore replace all the vegetables present in the recipe with others at your disposal or to taste, like zucchini, Savoy cabbage, white cabbage, cauliflower florets, or broccoli, etc., and vary depending on the season.
