2 Spinach & Vegetable Quiches

What do I do when I buy a huge bag of spinach leaves on sale for only $1.87?

First I make a lot of spinach salads including Raspberry Pecan Salad, then spinach over easy,  Spanakopita, Lebanese Spinach Pies, and throw it in Linguine with Prawns, and then I make spinach quiche. 

Since there’s so much spinach, I made a few quiches and experimented with the ingredients. I used 6 cups of spinach per quiche, and added half the spinach at a time so it would fit in the pan. It wilts quickly so you can add the rest after a couple of minutes. Of course you can make these quiches with frozen spinach. I won’t tell anyone.

 

I made the crust using pie crust and the same custard for Broccoli and Veggie

 

Quiche

First make the custard. You can use this custard for either quiche.

 Custard:

Whisk together until well blended:

3/4 cup warm milk (heat in microwave in a glass measuring cup)

2 eggs

1/4 tsp salt

a few shakes pepper

For each quiche, I used 6 cups fresh spinach. Here are two variations:

 

Spinach Quiche with mushrooms, bacon and red bell pepper: (This can be made without bacon and still satisfy!)

2 tsp olive oil

1 large red onion, chopped

½ red bell pepper, chopped

3 large white mushrooms, sliced

2 pieces crumbled bacon (discard fat)

2 one-inch sprigs finely minced rosemary

1 cup grated Jarlsberg cheese

1 egg for painting crust

 

Preheat oven to 425◦Sauté red onion and red bell pepper in olive oil until they soften. Add sliced mushrooms and rosemary. When mushrooms are soft, transfer vegetables to a bowl.

Add 6 cups spinach to the pan, cooking over low heat until spinach wilts. Transfer to a colander and press the water from the spinach. When spinach is cool enough to handles, pick it up and squeeze all the water out of the spinach. Mix it with the bacon and the other vegetables.

Cover the pie crust with parchment or foil and weigh it down with pie weights or beans on top. Blind bake crust for 15 minutes at 425◦

Remove from oven and paint an beaten egg on the bottom of the crust to prevent sogginess. Add leftover egg to custard. Bake for another 5 minutes to set the egg and brown the sides of the crust.

Lower oven temperature to 375◦

Place the pie crust on a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet lined with foil. Sprinkle 3/4 cup of the Jarlsberg cheese on bottom of pie crust, reserving a few tablespoons.

Put the vegetable mixture on top. Pour the custard over it until it’s about 1/2 inch below the top of the crust. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Pour custard over vegetables. Sprinkle with reserved Jarlsberg cheese. Cover with a pie shield to protect crust from burning.

Bake for 40 min in 375◦ oven until top begins to brown and an inserted knife comes out clean. Cool before eating.

 

 

Spinach Quiche with Rainbow Roasted Vegetables and feta

 

You can make this in a pie pan or a tart pan.

 6 cups fresh spinach or 1 cup frozen spinach

I cup Rainbow Roasted Vegetables, chopped

3 Tb crumbled feta cheese

1/3 cup grated Jarlsberg cheese. (You can substitute Swiss cheese, but I like the nutty taste of Jarlsberg)

1 egg for painting crust

Custard:

Whisk together until well blended:

1 cup warm milk

2 eggs

1/4 tsp salt

a pinch of white pepper

 Preheat oven to 375◦

Wilt spinach and remove with a slotted spoon, squeezing out liquid, and place in a medium bowl. If using frozen spinach, microwave with a little drizzle of water, then drain in a sieve, squeezing all the liquid out. This is important if you don’t want a waterlogged quiche!

Stir in roasted vegetables and crumbled feta cheese.

 

Place parchment paper or foil on top of the crust and cover with ceramic pie weights or beans to prevent the crust from puffing up.  Blind bake the crust for 15 minutes at 425. 

Remove the pie weights and parchment.

Paint an egg on the bottom of the crust to prevent sogginess. Add leftover egg to custard.

Bake again for 5 minutes to set the egg.

Let cool on a rack for a few minutes.

 Sprinkle most of the Jarlsberg cheese on bottom of pie crust, reserving a few tablespoons.

Add spinach,vegetable and feta mixture

Pour custard  over vegetables.Sprinkle reserved Jarlsberg cheese on top.Cover the edges of the pan with a pie sheld to prevent the edges from getting burned.Bake for 30 min in 375◦ oven until top begins to brown and an inserted knife comes out clean. Cool to room temperature before eating.

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Broccoli and Veggie Quiche for a Nursing Mother

My cousin just had a baby and I wanted to make her a quiche rich in calcium and easy on the spices. I included broccoli which is rich in calcium (178 mg per cup) and sharp cheddar which complements the broccoli. I topped it with sliced heirloom tomatoes, because well, they are in season and also complement the cheese. For flavor and color I added a bit of fresh thyme, red onion, red bell pepper and a couple of large mushrooms. I used 1% milk but it came out nice and creamy.

Make a single pie crust using my pie crust recipe.

Then brush a beaten egg in the bottom to guard against sogginess from the filling. (One egg will be more than enough to cover the pie bottom. Add the leftover egg to the custard.)

Preheat oven to 375◦

Filling ingredients: Makes 1 quiche (using a 9” pie pan)

Filling:

1 tsp olive oil

1 small broccoli with stem

1 very small red onion

1 red bell pepper

2 large mushrooms

1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves

1/4   tsp salt

1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 medium tomato (I used an heirloom tomato)

Custard:

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1/4 tsp salt

Slice onion and bell pepper and sauté in 1 tsp olive oil. Slice mushroom and add to sauté.

Strip the outer peel from the broccoli stem and slice broccoli stem. The stem is actually quite tender underneath the tough peel. Slice florets and discard lower branches. Add to vegetables with fresh thyme leaves and salt. Continue to sauté until the broccoli and other vegetables are well cooked, but broccoli florets are still a bright green.

For the custard, I warmed the milk for a minute in the microwave. Beat eggs, and add milk and salt. I used the blender, but you can beat it with a whisk instead.

Place 1/4 cup grated cheese on the bottom of each crust and add the vegetables. Pour in the custard. It should be at least 1/2 inch below the top of the pan, otherwise it will spill all over the oven!

Slice 1/2 of a  medium heirloom tomato into 3 rather thin slices and place them atop the custard. Sprinkle on the rest of the cheese. Bake for 30-40 min in 375◦ oven until top begins to brown and an inserted knife comes out clean. Cool before eating.