"*"See Kitchen Notes for more information and substitutes.
Heat the olive oil in a medium size skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the onion, chard stems, and garlic. Sauté for 3 minutes.
Add the chard leaves, oregano, thyme, and cracked pepper. Cover, reduce heat to medium low, and let steam about 5 minutes. Check and stir a couple of times to make sure you have enough moisture for the chard not to stick. If it's dry and the chard is sticking to the skillet add a tablespoon or 2 of water.
While the chard is steaming, toast the pinon and set to the side.
Remove the vegetables from the heat, uncover, add the raisins and olives. Stir and let cool.
Add the pinon nuts and wet ingredients to the chard mixture. Stir to combine. Pour on top of the filo and spread evenly to the edges of the dish. Spread ¼ cup crumbled feta over the top of the filling.
Top the filling with 4 more sheets* of filo (keeping the sheets inside the dish), brushing each with butter. Fold the overhanging filo over the top and brush with butter.
With a very sharp knife, cut the pie into serving pieces (BEFORE baking)*.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 - 35 minutes or until the filo on top turns a nice golden brown. Remove from the oven and let rest a few minutes before serving.
Phyllo (Filo) pastry – The size of the pastry sheets depends on the size of the casserole dish you use.
Size of casserole – I’ve used both a 8″ x 12″ rectangular dish and a 8″ x 14″ rectangular dish. The larger dish yields a thinner filling and larger pieces.
Layering the filo pastry – For the top layers, you might be able to fold one sheet (for 2) if the sheets are big enough. They don’t need to go all of the way to the edge of casserole because you’re going to fold the edges of the bottom sheets over the them.
Pre-cutting the pieces – When I saw this instruction in one of Sissi’s recipes I had to write her to ask “Why”? The answer – It yields beautiful pieces with intact sheet of crusty phyllo. Cutting the pieces after the dish is cooked causes the phyllo to crumble and your pieces aren’t as pretty. Great advice!
Leftovers - To reheat, place in oven and turn on for 350. Once the oven is hot, set timer for 10 minutes. Do not reheat in the microwave. It will make it soft and unpalatable.
Recipe author: MJ of MJ's Kitchen