Thanksgiving Meal Marathon Day 2

Day 2's recipe comes from my mother in law. The queen of great stews, homemade savory pies and soups. For years I took this original recipe and modified it to be dairy free so I could eat it. I would do this by replacing the ricotta with silken tofu. It works. However, today instead I would thicken it with a rue or arrowroot powder to take out the soy. It imparts a flavor that is not as neutral as I would like with the ricotta, and my soy phase is gone since I have become more educated about it's effects on our body (I can write about that after Thanksgiving).
This pie is great because you can assemble a day or two ahead, and then just bake right before serving. I like it because it is a nicely balanced pie. It's an easy way to get non-veggie people interested too. Enjoy!

Maria’s Spinach Mushroom Pie
1 large (8 oz) finely chopped onion
½ lb mushroom thinly sliced
2 slices nitrate and nitrite free bacon (optional) finely chopped
3 large cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 Tbls chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dry tarragon leaves
2 pkgs (10 oz each) frozen chopped spinach thawed and moisture squeezed out or 3 large bunches chopped and cooked down
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup soft homemade bread crumbs
2 large eggs
½ cup grated parmesan cheese (tofu parmesan combo cheese)
1/3 cup finely chopped parsley

Directions
In a 12 inch fring pan or 4 to 5 qt pan over medium heat, stir onion, mushrooms, bacon (or a little olive oil if no bacon) garlic and tarragon often until liquid evaporates and onion is golden brown. (about 20 minutes)
Remove pan from heat. Crumble spinach and add to pan along with the ricotta, bread crumbs, eggs, parmesan and parsley; beat to mix well.
Pour filling into a 9 inch pie pan or dish
Lay pastry (*) over filling, fold edges under and flush with pan rim.
Bake at 400 degrees F oven on the lowest rack until pastry is well browned and filling is hot in center (40 to 55 minutes)

(*) Cream Cheese Pastry
In a food processor or bowl, combine a 1¼ cups flour, ½ cup butter or margarine in chunks, and 1/3 cup (3 oz) Neufchatel (light) cream cheese. Whirl or rub with fingers until coarse crumbs form. Ad 1 large egg; whirl or stir with a fork until dough holds together. Pat into a ball. If made ahead, chill airtight up to 3 days. Roll out into a 10 inch diameter round. It good to make dough ahead and chill- easier to roll out.