Tomato-Spinach-Dill Quiche w/ Potato Crust

FRIDAY, AUGUST 20TH, 2010

4 stars (out of 5)

I found this recipe on the same blog as the salad from the previous entry for the spinach salad (http://fortheloveofcooking-recipes.blogspot.com/2010/06/tomato-spinach-and-dill-quiche-with.html). The blogger looks like she has some pretty good recipes on there. This one appealed to me because I thought that the shredded potato pie crust was funny, and also because I haven't made a quiche for a long time (oh, and I was craving dill!).

Ingredients:

1 package of shredded hashbrown potatoes*
Garlic powder (optional)
1 tomato, diced
1/2 cup fresh spinach, chopped
2 tbsp red onion
2 tsp dry dill**
1/4 cup feta cheese
7 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
Salt & pepper
Olive oil

{*Note. Available at IGA. In the original recipe, she actually grated the potatoes herself. I don't really have the time, nor the patience to do this, so I "cheated" and just bought the pre-shredded version. If you have a nice evening that you would like do it from scratch, I recommend looking at her blog. But, if you're like me, you would much prefer to sip on a glass of wine and read a book than stand around shredding potatoes.}.

{**Note. I also added about 2-3 tbsp of fresh dill, and really recommend doing this. Even with this much dill, I think it could have used some more!}.

Preheat oven to 375F.

1. First, I patted the shredded potatoes dry, and spread them in a pie dish. I pressed them down fairly hard and then sprinkled with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. I then placed it in the oven for about 12-14 minutes. It's not very finicky on this count - you can leave it in for a bit longer without it burning (which I did as I prepared the other ingredients).

2. As the pie crust was cooking, I crumbled the feta, diced the tomato, sliced the spinach, and chopped the red onion.

3. I then beat the eggs, milk, and dill together in a separate bowl.

4. When everything was prepped, I removed the pie crust from the oven, and added the tomato, spinach, red onion, and 1/2 the feta cheese.

5. I then poured the egg mixture over top, and sprinkled on the remaining feta cheese.

6. I popped it in the oven for an additional 30-40 minutes, and let it stand for a few minutes before serving.

Overall, this was pretty simple to make, and very stress free. I originally searched for it because I was craving something fairly healthy which had dill in it. I think that the dill could either be increased, or I could have added more salt, which would have made the dill flavour pop more. One note, I would make the potato crust very very thin, or even mix some flavours right into it before setting it in the pie place. Surprisingly, it did make a very good, sturdy crust (and simple!), which I was pleased to see. I will make this recipe again (leftovers were even good for breaky the next day!), probably just adding more dill and salt. SB really liked it, and it was a nice change from our other meals.

Spinach and Feta Quiche with Home-made Crust

MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2009

3.5 stars (out of 5 - pretty good, but a lot of work when you make your own crust)

All-Butter Crust:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (see pic)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 to 3 tbsp ice water

1. First, I cut the butter into cubes:

2. I then placed the butter into a food processor, and added the flour, salt, and sugar on top. You can do it by hand, but I am lazy!

3. I pulsed the food-processor approximately 10 times, until the batter resembled little peas:

4. I then added the water, 1 tablespoon at a time. When it started to stick together, I scooped it out of the processor and molded it by hand.

5. I then put it in some saran-wrap and placed it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes (during this time, I started mixing the ingredients of the quiche).

6. When it was chilled, I rolled it out with a rolling pin. I tried coating the rolling pin with flour, but it still stuck pretty badly. I rolled it out until it was just a few millimetres thick. Notice how I didn't really care about the shape of the dough (just somewhat round). This is because when you try to transfer it to the pie plate, it just falls apart anyways.

7. I then transferred the crust to the pie plate. As it falls apart, I did this in pieces and then just molded it together with my fingertips. Looks gross, but it will be covered by the quiche anyways! I then pricked it a bunch of times with a fork to prevent it from rising during baking.

8. After it was prepared, I stuck it in the oven at 350F for about 20-30 minutes. The recipe calls for it to be cooked for 20 minutes with "baking weights", but since I have no idea what those are, and nor do I care, I just do 20 minutes, check it, and then add a few minutes when it is needed. Once out of the oven, cool slightly before adding the quiche mixture.

Feta and Spinach Quiche:

1 package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed (about 300g)
3/4 package of Feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup cottage cheese
Green onions (about 1/2 of a small bunch), chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dry basil (or a seasoning of your choice - I use Herbes de Provence)
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder or garlic salt
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk

1. First, I defrosted the spinach in the microwave. I do this first so that it can cool while I mix the other ingredients. I then combined the feta, cottage cheese, green onions, olive oil, basil, pepper, and garlic powder. The recipe says to blend until smooth but I a) am too lazy, and b) like it chunky (especially the feta). I then squeezed the spinach until it was fairly dry and added it to the bowl. After it was all mixed up, I added the milk and egg.

2. I poured this mixture into the cooled pie crust and placed it in the oven for 35-40 minutes at 325F.

3. I let it cool for 5-10 minutes and...




4. ...voila! Serve with salad.