Friday, February 22, 2013

Spinach Quiche with Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms


Lent is now upon us, and this is the season of meatless meals for some.  I made this glorious quiche for a lunch, that I was having for a dear friend. Quiche is now cool, or so I  read in the cooking magazines. Over the years, I have made many a quiche, but I never made my own pie crust, but I am now. Why is it, that when I heard the words pie dough or bread dough, I would  freeze?  Now I made this crust, and it didn't shrink, due to some tips that I read on Epicurious, thanks to Lizzy, @That Skinny Chick Can Bake.


One of the things that I never knew was to refrigerate the pie shell in the fridge, after placing in the pie or quiche pan. for one hour, before "blind baking".  Also, use a large square of aluminum foil or parchment paper, buttered, and place butter side down, before you add the pie weights or beans. Bake for 20 min, then remove foil, and pie weights, prick the bottom of the crust with a fork about 10, and bake about 10 more until golden.  When the crust is removed from the oven, brush hot crust with one beaten egg white. Cool and set aside.  Once the baked pie shell is cool sprinkle about 1 /2 c of the cheese over the bottom of the crust, before adding the filling. Whew, there are a lot of steps, because the crust was the best one that I ever made, no soggy crust here, just a flaky, tender, melt in your mouth crust. You can also used the refrigerated or frozen pie crusts, which I used for years, and are even better than they used to be.


Quiche is such a versatile dish, because you can make this with meat or meatless, just by varying the ingredients. I made this quiche with Baby Spinach, Caramelized Onions, Cremini mushrooms, and I added  4 slices of turkey bacon, crumbled with Swiss Cheese.  to make this a meatless dish, just omit the bacon. The caramelized onions really add another depth of flavor. You can add any vegetables that you and your family like, broccoli, green pepper, zucchini, tomatoes, yellow squash, etc.and any type of hard cheese that you like. Quiche is a great for any occasion, for Brunch, Lunch, or even Dinner. What is your favorite type Of Quiche?  My hubby loved this quiche, because there is a lot of filling, and "Real Men eat Quiche. Enjoy!

Spinach Quiche with Caramelized Onion and Mushrooms   Adapted from the Essential Vegetarian Cookbook by Whitecap Books

Ingredients;
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
  • 1 medium onion, thinly sliced and cut in half
  • 8 oz of fresh mushrooms, sliced I used Cremini
  • 2 C Baby spinach, washed and stems removed, chopped
  • 4 slices of cooked turkey bacon crumbled (optional)
  • 1 (8 ounce) package shredded Swiss Cheese
  • 1 single pie crust rolled out  1 (9 inch) unbaked deep dish pie crust Recipe here, from Brown Eyed Baker
  • 1 large egg white, beaten for crust
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup half and half
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1tsp. nutmeg
Directions:
 Quiche Crust Preheat oven to 400F degrees
Roll out dough for single pie crust and chill in refrigerator one hour. Press into 9” pie plate or quiche pan. Place pie pan on a cookie sheet. Butter a large square of aluminum foil and cover pastry with aluminum foil, butter side down. Spread a layer of beans, rice, or pie weights over the aluminum foil on crust 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, set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (190 degrees C).

To prepare the filling, heat 1 Tbsp of oil in a large nonstick pan over a medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and caramelized, about 20 minutes. Transfer the onions to a bowl. Add the remaining 1 Tbsp. of oil to the pan and heat over a medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and, cook, stirring occasionally, until they have released their water and begin to brown, about 6 minutes. Add the onions back to the pan, and add chopped spinach to wilt, and crumbled bacon, if used.

In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, half and half, salt, pepper, and
nutmeg.

Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the cheese into the pie crust. Top with the spinach- mushroom-onion mixture and pour the egg mixture on top. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake for 35-50 min. or until knife inserted in the middle comes out clean, and cheese is golden. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting


l linked up my recipe to Brandie@The Country Cook's Weekend Potluck #55
 Stop by and say Hi to Brandie!  


 

22 comments:

  1. This quiche looks amazing! I will definitely have to give it a try. Thanks for sharing :)

    Happy Blogging!
    Happy Valley Chow

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Eric,
      The caramelized onions make this quiche, with so much flavor, along with the mushrooms and Baby Spinach. Let me know, if you make this.

      Delete
  2. Mmmm I would love to eat this delicious looking quiche :D

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Uru,
      Thank you! You would love this quiche, with such great flavors with caramelized onions and mushrooms in a flaky crust.

      Delete
  3. Delicious! Just pinned this and plan on making it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Debbie, glad that you like the recipe! please let me know, if you make it.

      Delete
  4. What a great quiche! It sounds delicious!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pam,
      This quiche has wonderful flavors and a flaky crust.

      Delete
  5. Oh, your quiche looks magnificent, Becky! I had to giggle that you used me as a reference for anything to do with a pie crust...as it's one thing I feel I haven't mastered :) Thanks so much for the mention, my friend...and hope you have a wonderful weekend. xo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lizzy,
      You are welcome for the shout out. To me everything that you bake looks perfect!
      Hope that you are having a great weekend!

      Delete
  6. I never knew quiche went out of style! I usually just spray the backside of the foil with no-stick spray before laying it on the crust. I'm overdue for one soon. Yeah, it's finally Friday, hope you have a great weekend planned out.
    -Gina-

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gina,
      I guess because I used to make quiche, back in the day, I didn't think that they were very popular. Buttering the side of the foil worked for me, and this was the best crust that I had ever made.

      Hope that you are having a great weekend!

      Delete
  7. Very nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted
    to say that I've truly enjoyed browsing your blog posts. In any case I'll be subscribing to your
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    Review my page eiweiss zum abnehmen

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thank you! I look forward to hearing from you again!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh I LOVE quiche and your is chock full of goodies! lovely, lovey recipe :)
    Mary x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mary,
      Thank you! this is a wonderful with so much flavor from the caramelized onions, mushrooms, and spinach, with all the cheesy goodness.

      Delete
    2. Mary,
      Thank you! this is a wonderful with so much flavor from the caramelized onions, mushrooms, and spinach, with all the cheesy goodness.

      Delete
  10. Quiche, how I love thee... :) I am especially loving all of that mushroom and onion goodness... beautiful recipe!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kate,
      The caramelized onions and mushrooms make everything taste better in this quiche,

      Delete
  11. I love a good quiche and nothing, indeed, beats a good homemade crust. Love the addition of caramelized onions to it, they make all things tastier, don't they?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are right about the homemade crust for sure. I never like crust before, but I sure did like my own. Caramelized onions are so good, in quiche, on Brie, or in dip!

      Nice to meet you and and thank you for visiting my blog, and your kind words.

      Delete
  12. I am all about homemade crusts! And I love these types of quiches. It looks yummy. :)

    ReplyDelete

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