One of my very favorite meals to bring to a new mother is Quiche. Quiche is a choline, protein and vitamin rich meal, packed with lots of good fat, and can be eaten at absolutely any time of day, with one hand. I also love that it can be tailored to both gluten free folks (I sub gluten free flour for AP, and roll out between parchment paper), as well as vegetarians by simply leaving out meat. Essentially the perfect meal for all new mamas. This variation is a celebration of the tender spring greens that will soon be readily available here in Maine, but please feel free to add cooked up bacon, sausage or ground beef to make it a real hearty meal.
Caramelize your Onions
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3 large yellow onions, sliced thinly
2 tablespoons butter, lard or olive oil
In a large saute pan or cast iron skillet, cook your onions and fat over medium heat until they start to get a little color. Turn the heat down to very low, and let onions cook until they are caramel colored and translucent-this will take an hour or so. Remove from heat, and let cool while you prepare the crust
Make the Crust
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1 1/4 cup AP flour
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup cold water
You can certainly mix this dough by hand, but my favorite method for all doughs is our food processor. It allows for a very speedy mix, keeping the butter cold, as well as very minimal working with my hands, which will yield a flakier crust. Place flour, butter, and salt in food processor. Pulse until butter is pea-sized. Pour 1/2 cup water over your flour butter mixture, and pulse until you see the dough just come together. Turn out onto a piece of wax paper or parchment, and gently pat into a 1 inch thick disc, and wrap up in your paper. Place this disc into the freezer while you prepare your fillings. You can also make this dough ahead of time, and keep in the fridge for up to a few days.
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PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 DEGREES
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Prepare your other Fillings
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1 cup shredded cheddar or gruyere cheese
1 bunch tender kale, spinach or swiss chard, roughly chopped
8 pasture raised eggs
2/3 cup heavy cream or whole milk
1 Tblsp sea salt
1 teaspoon pepper
In a medium sized bowl, crack your eggs, add your dairy, salt & pepper, and whisk until all eggs are completely broken, and mixture is cohesive. Set aside while you roll out your dough.
Roll out your Dough
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Lightly flour your work surface, and get out your pie pan so that you can use to approximate the size of your rolled out dough. Roll out dough, so that it is about 2 inches wider than the diameter of your pie pan. To transfer dough, I like to fold the dough over itself and quickly lay on one side of the pie pan before folding back the other side. Your dough should have a healthy extra amount of dough reaching beyond the edge of your pan
Now begin filling your pie crust with your fillings! I like to have the raw greens at the very bottom of the pie, so that they gently steam themselves while the rest of the pie is cooking above.
Now pile your caramelized onions on, and cover the onions with with your cheese. Now you are going to pour your raw egg mixture slowly over all of your fillings. Then gently fold the edges of your excess dough over and towards to the center of your pie.
Place your pie in the oven, and cook for 1 hour. After 1 hour, poke the center of the pie and gently pull back the filling. You will know if the pie is done, if the filling holds and no raw egg is visible. Let cool for about 10 minutes before cutting. Enjoy!
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REPARATIONS
As always this recipe is free, but I ask you to please consider offering reparations in the place of compensating me for this content. I want to continue to lift up a GoFund Me for a local Penobscot woman, expecting her first child this year. Please follow the link and give what you can. Many thanks!