Growing up I hated quiche and then I didn't. My mom made quiche often and at first I never liked it. Maybe it was consistency my child palate did not approve of, eventually and thankfully my palate changed. First eating it because I was hungry and it was what my mom had worked hard to prepare for dinner, I ate. As she made it several times a year, I ate and began to appreciate what she had prepared. Overall I realized it was nutritious made of eggs and always packed with broccoli. Variations of her recipe included adding ham, bacon, spinach, or different types of cheeses. Eventually though something in me changed. I looked forward to eating those vegetables suspended in an eggy mixture with its pastry crust. I devoured it and I loved it.
One thing that really made it spectacular however was the crust. My mom never used a purchased crust. She made it entirely from scratch, pinching it around the edges to make it look beautiful. Buttery, flakey, first a crunch and then it would melt in our mouths, it was always something I devoured as a kid. I loved her homemade crusts. Her father, among many things had been a pie baker. Anyone that knew him, knew him for his pies. He would give them for gifts for any reason. If his friend was sick he baked them a pie. A new baby, a pie. Moving to a new house, a pie. Just because he loved you, a pie. I remember one time he made 10 pies for people he felt needed them. He also taught all of us to make his pie crust. I remember one day he told my mom proudly that my brother had the gift for making pie crust. It only made me want to try that much harder to make it taste just like his.
I have been out of practice on the crust making for a while, steering toward the frozen food section when a craving for quiche would strike. However I decided to make one from scratch for my variation of quiche. Along the way I had a few mishaps so this recipe is a bit more of a formula for anyone that may recreate it. I forgot to bake the crust first, over zealous and having a conversation about something rather important with Eric while cooking, I poured the quiche filling over the raw crust. Mishap #2: I did not pay attention to the cooking time so I only have a guess as to how long to bake the darn thing. Despite all of this, Eric told me this was the best quiche he ever ate. The standout ingredients in my quiche are spinach, oyster mushrooms, and gruyere cheese. The star of the dish was the crust made with only butter, flour, salt, and ice water, it was to die for. It would have made my Grandpa proud.
Spinach, Mushroom, and Gruyere Quiche print
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup butter
- ice water
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup greek yogurt
- 1 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach de-thawed
- 1/3 cup low fat milk
- 1 heaping cup chopped oyster mushrooms
- 1/2 cup shredded gruyere + extra for top
- three pinches of kosher salt
- freshly ground pepper
- freshly ground nutmeg
Directions for crust:
Pulse cold butter cut into cubes with flour and salt in food processor to combine using the dough blade. Add ice water one tablespoon at a time until mixture begins to clump together. (I used about 4 tbsp water). Turn out onto floured surface and roll dough together into a ball. Be careful not to over work. Wrap with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for about 30 minutes. (Make filling at this point if desired)
Once it is chilled, return to floured surface and using a rolling pin roll dough out until it is thin and the diameter is larger than the dish it will be going into. (I used a 9 inch pie pan and had about 1/3 of the dough left over) Bake in 375º F oven for 15 minutes or until light golden. ( I missed this step tonight so time is approximate!)
Directions for filling:
Sauté mushrooms in pan with a little olive oil until golden. Remove all of excess water from de-thawed spinach. Place spinach and mushrooms in mixing bowl to cool. Beat 3 eggs until mixture is tripled in volume, approximately 6-8 minutes. Add greek yogurt, milk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg to eggs. Add egg mixture to mushrooms and spinach. Mix in 1/2 cup gruyere cheese. Pour mixture into prepared crust. Bake in oven for 45 minutes or until quiche is set. Add additional gruyere to top and broil for 1-2 minutes for a golden brown and bubbly top.
Labels: dairy, eggs, Family history, meatless monday, mushrooms, quiche, recipe, spinach, vegetarian
