Summer Quiche Makes Everything Better

A few days ago I had some spinach to use up. It's hitting the mid- to high- 90s 'round here, rocking only about 6% humidity. Woo hoo! So I decided cold quiche sounded like a good way to go for dinner for the next few days.

1. The Crust
I love super-butter, flakey pate brise, but I also like fitting into my pants and saving the butter for dessert. A few years ago I started using Cotilde's Easy Olive Tart Crust. It is very simple, gets you lots of fiber and protein from the whole wheat, and basically impossible to screw up. It isn't the same as a shortbread crust, but it's still flakey, doesn't get soggy, and gives a nice olive oil or butter flavor to a quiche. I made my quiche in a 9" round cake pan and was able to do it w/ half a recipe of the dough.

Half a recife from Cotilde:

-4.4 oz/ 125 g whole wheat pastry flour (can use white whole wheat or 50/50 all-purpose and whole wheat)

-.5 teaspoon fine sea salt

-.2 teaspoon dried herbs (I use rosemary or thyme)

- 30 ml (1/8 cup) olive oil (or the oil of your choosing, provided it withstands cooking)

- 60 ml (1/4 cup) cold water

In order to get a stronger butter flavor, I used 1 Tbl olive oil and 1 Tbl melted butter (yes, you read that right, a really good tart crust w/ only 2 Tbl of fat) and added a generous sprinkling of thyme. I kneaded in the bowl, rolled out on a floured cutting board, draped into a well-oiled pan and let rest in the fridge for 30 min.

2. Filling
-1 shallot
-1 clove garlic, minced
-a bunch of spinach (maybe 4 -5 cups?
-nutmeg
-salt and pepper
-3/4 c. grated gruyere and havarti, mixed (just what i had in the fridge)

I sliced up the shallot and garlic, and sauteed them in a pan. Added spices and spinach and cooked until well-wilted. B/c I sauteed rather than steamed no need to squeeze the water out, it just cooks off.

After resting, 30 min, I pulled the crust out of the fridge, lined it with cheese and then spread the spinach on top.

3. Custard
Proportions are Mollie Katzen's from Mastercook:
sloped pie pan: 3 eggs to 1 c. milk
straight pan: 4 eggs to 1.5 c. milk

I used the 4 eggs : 1.5 c. milk, beat them up and poured them over the quiche.

4. Cooking
I cooked this at 325 for 45 min, and then at 350 for 15 (b/c it wasn't cooking- I think my oven runs a bit cold).
I'd recommend cooking at 350 for 30-45 min or until the center is just set.