SHANNON SARNA, NEW YORK
This vegetable “kugel” crust is all those things: great for a vegetarian lunch, it’s healthful, packed with tons of vegetables and it’s a super-satisfying breakfast. I use spinach in the filling, but you could just as easily use kale, broccoli, squash or any other quiche filling you like. Just make sure that if you use a frozen vegetable, to thaw it completely and remove the excess water.
Make sure to grease your springform pans for easy baking. This recipe yields two 8-inch (20 cm) quiches – ideal for eating all week, or serving for guests.
Ingredients:
For the crust
1 large sweet potato
1 russet (Idaho) potato, or some other kind
1 medium zucchini
2 large eggs
1/2 cup matzah meal
1/2 teaspoon salt
For the filling
6 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups heavy cream or half and half
6 ounces (around 2 cups) frozen spinach, thawed and drained well
2 cups shredded cheddar or Gruyère cheese plus extra
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Directions:
To make the crust, coarsely grate the potato, sweet potato and zucchini using a hand grater or in a food processor. Add to large bowl and mix with eggs, matzah meal, salt and pepper.
Preheat oven to 200° C.
Grease two 8-inch (20 cm) springform pans. Spoon veggie mixture into bottom of pans and gently push all along the bottom of the pan and up the sides a little to form crust.
Place in fridge for 5-10 minutes.
Bake crusts for 10-15 minutes, until crust just starts to brown and crisp around the edges.
While crust is baking, prepare filling by whisking eggs and heavy cream (or half and half) in a large bowl. Add spinach, cheese, salt and pepper.
Pour half the mixture into one prepared crust, the other half into other crust. Top with a sprinkle of additional shredded cheese, a few dabs of butter and thick sea salt if desired.
Reduce oven temperature to 190°C and bake another 25-30 minutes, or until the middle of the quiche has puffed slightly.
Allow to cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature. Can be prepared 1-2 days ahead of time. (The Nosher via JTA)
Shannon Sarna is the editor of The Nosher.
