May 10, 2010

Spinach Quiche


I love eggs. Especially the brown farm ones my MIL brings over from her friend at work. And as a family of 5, we eat about 3 dozen eggs a week - so one day, when we finally own a house of our own, I will definetly be getting a few egg layers to care for.

So here is my recipe for spinach quiche. Its a combination of several different recipes from Allrecipes and a few extras that suit my taste buds.

Spinach Quiche
Prep Time: 30 mins + 2 hrs
Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients:
Crust:
1C Unbleached Flour, white or wheat + more for rolling
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/2 C unsalted butter, cold

Filling:
5 large eggs
3C fresh spinach (or 9 oz bag)
1/2 large onion
handful cherry tomatoes
1C Colby Jack cheese
1/4C cream or whole milk
3 Tbsp butter
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dill

To Prepare:
1. Measure flour, salt and spices into a medium bowl. I like to use 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 white flour because its healthy but doesn't taste completely like sand.
2. Cut your butter up into tablespoons and toss it into the bowl.
3. Smash with a pastry blender until mixture resembles a coarse meal, then pack it into a ball with your hands.
4. Cover with plastic wrap or put in a covered bowl and set it the fridge for about 2 hours. Any longer and the dough will get too hard to roll out. If you are rushed for time, pop it into the freezer for 20 minutes and set a timer so you don't forget about it!
5. When the dough is set, flour your countertop and use a rolling pin to roll it out into a general circle shape. It should be no thinner than 1/4 inch. If the dough is hard to work, just keep rolling it out and smashing it back into a ball until it becomes more pliable.
6. Grease a round pan and preheat the oven to 350*.
7. Form dough into your pan and make sure it covers all the sides. Its doesn't have to be perfect. If the dough is longer on one side, tear it off and press it into a shorter side. Set aside.
8. Chop the onion as small as you can get it and saute it in the butter, in a large skillet on medium heat until it becomes translucent.
9. Add a handful of spinach at a time to the pan and cook it until it looks wilted and slimy.
10. Chop tomato into small bits.
11. Crack the eggs into a bowl - you can reuse the dough bowl to save on cleanup - then mix them up. Add the cream or milk to make the eggs fluffy and beat.
12. Add spinach, onion and tomato to the eggs, then cheese, salt and dill.
13. Mix it all up and pour it in the crust.
14. Bake @ 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until egg is set.

I served this with tube sausage and strawberries for dessert. The vitamin C in the strawberries helps you absorb all the Vitamin A and K in the spinach. Your body turns Vitamin A into retinol which fights wrinkles! (As does real butter) So eat your spinach! PS - Milk hinders that absorption.

The sausage of course is not at all good for you but it reminds me of my grandma and her German taste buds. That and Braunschweiger. Gross but still bittersweet.

Stay healthy! ♥

  

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