Spinach Zucchini Ricotta Quiche
27 Jan
I don’t have too much to say today – I’ve come to the end of a very long and tiring road. It’s a relief, to say the least – and I can feel the weight of the last few weeks evaporating from my shoulders.
But instead of giving you a long, drawn out, complicated and sometimes almost comical “Explanation of the Situation” (and no, not the guy from the Jersey Shore), I will tell you that last night, David had surgery – and after a battery of tests and a misdiagnosis, he will indeed be just fine.
Which is good, because I threatened to kill him if he didn’t get better. 
Where is all this going? I have no clue. I don’t know how this dialogue started, but let’s get to the point here – I found it very therapeutic to make and form a pastry crust last weekend after all the test results came back negative. I was in the midst of half-supervising Sabrina as she formed paper into the various stages of paper airplanes for her Science Fair project. I couldn’t just stand there, I had to do something. And after I had the crust all ready, I realized I wasn’t in the mood for a sweet pie, so I figured, hey, I’ll make a quiche! After all, what could be better than vegetables mixed with cheese baked into a crust?
Chocolate cake would be better! Well, I asked, didn’t I?
However, my doctor has advised me that as much as I’d like to, I simply cannot live on chocolate alone.
Little does he know…………
Mwah ha ha ha ha ha!
* ahem *
Back to the quiche – in my opinion, it’s a good way to use up whatever stray vegetables are laying around – and in this case, it was a bag of spinach that was threatening to unionize with the zucchini if I didn’t get them out of the cold. Ha! So I cooked them instead. That will teach them not to complain.
The biggest difference for me this time around was the crust. I recently discovered Gale Gand’s pastry crust, and I think this one is “it”. I was skeptical about the use of red wine vinegar, but I couldn’t taste it in the final product. It was so light and crispy – the perfect surrounding for the creamy quiche filling.
I’ve given my version of the crust utilizing all purpose and white whole wheat, but if it suits you better, just use all purpose flour.
Pastry Crust - adapted from Gale Gand
1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp sugar
¾ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
¼ cup ice water
1 tsp red wine vinegar
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flours, salt and sugar – process just to combine. Add the butter, and process using on/off turns until you have a crumbly, sandy mixture – you should still be able to see pieces of butter.
Combine the water and red wine vinegar – and pour into the processor with the motor running. Process just until the dough comes together. Dump the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap, and form it into a flat disk. Wrap it up and chill it for an hour. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured board into a 10 inch circle. Gently place the dough into the pie pan, fold the edges under and crimp them decoratively. Chill while preparing the filling.
Ricotta Spinach Pie - adapted from Bon Appetit, 1996
3 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 10 oz bag fresh spinach
1 zucchini, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 15-ounce container ricotta cheese
8 ounce mozzarella cheese, grated
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 large eggs, beaten to blend
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Mix in spinach and sauté until wilted, about 2 minutes. Add zucchini and continue to cook until almost all liquid from spinach evaporates, about 3-4 minutes.Set aside to cool slightly.
In a large bowl, combine ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Mix in eggs. Add cooled spinach mixture; blend well.
Spoon cheese mixture into pie crust and smooth the top. Bake until filling is set in center and brown on top, about 40 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes. Cut pie into wedges.
You’re on for the deal of trying to follow a recipe exactly! Hey, I made an almost flourless chocolate cake today and ALMOST followed the recipe. The only thing I did different was that I halved the recipe. Does that count? I even whipped egg whites to a firm peak by hand!!! And then some whipped cream by hand for the top! That’s pretty good, eh!
Oh your quiche looks de-lish. Those darn veggies will learn, won’t they!
And the curst–red wine vinegar, huh? I made a crust with distilled vinegar and I swear I could taste it. Maybe I’ll try red wine.
Glad all is well with David, I really wouldn’t want you to kill him, you wouldn’t be able to blog after that!
I’m so glad that David is on the road to recovery!
Your quiche looks picture perfect and very delicious.
I’m so glad to hear that David is going to be alright. I was thinking about you guys the past few days.
I’m sure that must have been so stressful for you! But there’s no better cure for stress than cooking or baking. At least in my opinion.
The quiche looks fantastic!
I’m happy that David is going to be allright-I know you and your children are relieved!
I really miss Gale Gand’s show that was very shortlived on The Food Network, back in the early 2000′s. It was called “Sweet Dreams”.
That quiche looks fabulous-and very comforting!:)
So glad to hear he is doing better
You must be very relieved. No better way to celebrate than with pastry.
I’m so glad things are working out!
Beautiful quiche, such a perfect looking crust!
OK, it’s not chocolate cake, but this looks very comforting! Glad to hear that your husband is on the road to recovery. I bet all of your great cooking will help with that!
Hope the recovery goes well! This quiche looks wonderful!
The quiche looks great, perfect warm winter food. I’m glad to hear David is recovering!
I wonder if I could do this crustless (I am gluten free) because the egg ingredients looks so delicious. Great recipe!
Sarah – you absolutely could do this crust free! In fact, if you do, let me know because it’s a great alternative – and this way I’ll know how it turns out.
I’m glad that your hubs is ok!
The crust AND the quiche look wonderful. I’ve made Gale Gand’s crust once before and I remember that it worked out really well. Then I forgot all about it until I read this post. I’ll have to revisit the recipe. I think quiche is such a great dinner, I’m glad you enjoyed this.
In Italy we have a similar recipe, called “Pasqualina” (means: of Easter), but it’s without zucchini, I love the idea of adding them!