Spinach Feta Quiche

Once upon a time, when I was a sassy pants 19 year old barista, I was introduced to the world coffee shop fare. It's surely  one of my favorite types of food to this day. Cafe style, big sandwiches on steam smoking freshly baked bread, strangely named soups with mounds of veggies bobbing about...

Fresh, simple, tastes good with a Latte kind of food.

It was in my first days at my first coffee shop gig that I discovered Hummus, Pesto, eggplant, and quiche. I grew up in a really small town, and had never heard of these strange bean pastes and cartoon vegetables. 

Egg pie? hmmmmm. It sounded weird, and so naturally I wanted to try it straight away.

I always loved when another semi- ignorant country bumpkin would come into wherever I was peddling coffee and chow and order the quiche, calling it the  KEESHAY. " 

"I'll take a ham and swiss KEESHAY"...

I'd think, "Oh, you silly, simple goose."

 Once I'd found out how to say quiche, and what it was and that I liked the taste of it, anyone who was unable to pronounce it was clearly a goon in my coffee addled teenage mind. I secretly sniggered at them, much as the people who called the scones "Sconses" ( like the things that hold candles ) and the Hummus  "Humus" (Like the compost that grows on the forest floor.) 

It wasn't long after that that I decided the back of the house was my home, when I couldn't bite my tongue to people who couldn't really pronounce things that didn't find it necessary to tip me all too often either. It was a good fit, because I learned how to make quiche and all kinds of other things, and pronounce them too.

  A favorite quiche of mine has always been the Spinach Feta combo, and it's always been a great hit in my experiences with it.

Spinach Feta Quiche

Crust

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon cold water
• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Blend flour, salt, and sugar in a food  processor. Add butter; using on/off turns, process until coarse meal forms. Whisk 1 egg and 1 teaspoon cold water in small bowl; add to flour mixture. Using on/off turns, process just until moist clumps form. Transfer to work surface and knead gently until dough comes together, about 4 turns. Form into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill 1 hour, then press into 9 inch pie plate.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter large square of foil and press, butter side down, onto crust. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake 20 minutes. Remove foil and weights. Using fork, pierce bottom of crust all over (about 10 times). Bake until golden, about 10 minutes. Brush lightly with egg white. Cool. 

*If you'd like to use a store bought pie crust and cut this step out it's up to you. There are some good quality whole wheat pie crusts that pretty darn good and a lot easier than making a scratch crust if you don't have time or desire.

- 1 cup fresh spinach, chopped

-4 medium eggs

- 1/2 cup half and half

-1/2 cup onion

-1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

-1 t. Black pepper

-1/3 t. nutmeg

Directions:Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute onion in medium saucepan until translucent. Turn off heat, add chopped spinach and toss to wilt. Cool. Whisk eggs and half and half, then whisk in nutmeg and black pepper. Add onion and spinach mixture to pie shell, then sprinkle feta and a few full spinach leaces on top. on top. Pour egg/milk mixture on top, and bake in oven 30-35 minutes. Quiche should be puffy but not cracked when done, and set in the middle. tap it in the center, and if it feels watery, give it a few more minutes. It should resist tapping firmly, but not be totally solid.

Serve it warm, and with a smile, that's my quiche motto =)

If memory suits, this is the first kind of quiche I ever tasted, and it's still my favorite one to make and eat. The spinach leaves give it a lovely rustic look, and it's a crowd-pleaser for breakfast, brunch, lunch , dinner or brinner (That would be breakfast/dinner, Bloody Mary's welcome at this one too though)

Quiche is a delicious dish that can be made for a lazy Saturday, or fancied up to bring to a Dinner  party. My favorite drink to pair with quiche is the ever-popular Mimosa, half pink champagne and half  fresh orange juice. It makes for great leftovers too, as it sits for about 3 days unscathed in the fridge. If it can possibly last that long.....

Egg Pie: It's what's for Brinner.