Here’s the coffee cake we enjoyed all weekend. And after having coffee cake about 100 times a day, I was ready for something savory, delicious, and healthy. Crispy slightly buttery crust, savory, garlicky, warm and cheesy in the center… this meatless quiche is one of the best things to come out of my oven. (Even my meat and potatoes loving husband agrees.)
Let me tell you a few things about this cheesy spinach mushroom quiche situation:
1.) This quiche is soo versatile! It goes great alongside a salad or soup for lunch/dinner. Serve it as a main course for a brunch. You could even make it into appetizers with store-bought mini quiche shells for a party. 2.) Save time by making it ahead! All the components of this quiche can be made ahead of time and refrigerated. Use a homemade crust (recipe provided) or a store-bought shell, it’s totally up to you. Sauté the onions, garlic, and mushrooms and keep them in a Tupperware container in the refrigerator. Make the egg mixture and store as well. Defrost your spinach overnight. Assemble the quiche and bake it right before eating. Did you know this quiche can also be baked and stored in the freezer? Any leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 4 days. Or freeze for up to 2 months. 3.) There are so so many variations! Get creative – swap the cheeses for your favorites! Add other veggies. Make broccoli and cheddar cheese quiche? Mmm Hmm, maybe I will too! Add turkey-bacon bits? So many choices! Lets do this thing. Let’s call it brunch. Let’s call it dinner. Let’s stuff our quiche greedily with 3 different cheeses. Let’s sauté onions. And garlic. And mushrooms. Let’s let the quiche making begin! But first, let’s make the buttermilk crust: This is my ABSOLUTE favorite pie crust recipe. I’m sharing it with you because we’re friends. The best of both worlds – combining shortening and butter. This makes the ultimate flaky, tender, buttery pie crust. It’s nothing new – tons of people do it this way. And it’s the way I like my crust! I also use buttermilk in the crust instead of water. And as always you can sub a 1/2 teaspoon of vinegar + 1/4 cup milk and let it sit for 5 minutes to make buttermilk. I need you to remember one word – COLD. Everything – butter, shortening, buttermilk. COLD. COLD. COLD. Cah-peesh? Combine the flour, salt, and sugar. Break the butter down into the flour using a potato masher, pastry cutter, or fork. Fingers work well too! When adding the buttermilk, make a hole in the center of the flour mixture. Do NOT add all the buttermilk at once. Depending on the water content of your butter, you may need more or less buttermilk than the next person. Start with about half. Work your way up. When the dough starts to hold and starts to clump, stop adding the buttermilk. Roll out the dough on a floured work surface. The dough should come together easily and should not feel overly sticky. Form dough into a ball. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour. 2 hours for a shiny gold star.
Saute the onions and mushroom for 8 minutes before adding the garlic. The key to making a good quiche is cooking off as much of the water from the veggies as you can! Same with the frozen spinach. Defrost according to package directions. Strain water through a fine mesh strainer. Remove excess water by squeezing spinach into a kitchen towel. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, half and half, parmesan, salt and pepper. Whisk until the eggs are completely incorporated with other ingredients. Roll out the crust and lay it in the pie dish. I used a 9 inch pie plate. Bake the crust for 8 minutes. If your crust starts to bubble up in some places use a fork to pierce the dough and remove the air. You shouldn’t have this issue if you laid the dough flat into the pie dish cavity. Fill the baked crust with the spinach mixture, followed by the mushroom mixture and then the cheese. Oh the cheese! Pour the egg mixture over the top. Sprinkle fresh cracked pepper on top, if you please.
