Dairy free Spinach Quiche

DH is an inveterate lover of spinach in every shape or form.  I am less so. So be it, marriage is a series of compromises for the ones you love.  He’s worth it (most of the time 😜).  So, as with other foods he likes/I less or I like/he less I try to find a harmonious balance between us to produce a food to be enjoyed.  I will eat a spinach salad with Bacos (soy based bacon flavored vegetarian chips or chunks) and a creamy vinaigrette from time to time but to cook spinach plain it’s meh and I let him have creamed spinach in restaurants (hey, that’s a compromise, no?).  However, I really can enjoy a spinach & bacos quiche.  The trick with the bacos is to let them soak in the liquid of the filling so they will not be tough little nubbins in every bite cuz that’s just yucky (using eloquent jargon, I know).  So, I was gonna be a bit lazy like a lion and buy a pie crust for the quiche but to my dismay, I can no longer find those convenient frozen pie crusts that came in handy in a pinch.  C’est la vie, I asked shop owners around town and they all agree they no longer get them.

So what’s a girl to do?  Make your own, of course.  Now I know it’s not hard, but it”s been awhile and it’s one more step, if you get me, in your prep.  Never mind, hubby & spinach, I repeated it like a mantra.  So, I flip through my old cookbooks and check online to make sure I’m not forgetting anything but a basic piecrust is very simple and uses very few ingredients.  This can be made in a mixer or food processor and the trick is not to overwork the dough and to use cold margarine (or butter) and after making the pastry, pat into a round, wrap in plastic wrap, and depending on your time constraints either pop in fridge for about an hour or freezer for 15 minutes.

The idea is that the fat should be “peppered” throughout the dough, not smoothly incorporated, thereby producing in the oven the flaky pastry you are endeavoring to achieve.  I actually did an experiment with room temp marg and cold marg and the room temp pastry was tough and barely edible.

The filling is good for anytime especially since it is pareve and can be eaten with any meal as a first course, side or main.  When I feel ambitious, I put the pastry in muffin cups and make tarts out of the quiche.  You can also add cubed salami or kabanos (hard sausage) to up your game but of course then it’s meat.

Pie crust

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup margarine (or butter if you want it dairy)

1/4 cup (or 4 tablespoons) ice water

Whirl together flour and salt till combined, take you marg out of the fridge, REMEMBER do NOT leave out to warm up, this really matters, then cut up into cubes and drop into mixer while mixing (or processor while processing) but really watch carefully.  Do not overmix or your crust will be tough.  It will turn to crumbs and then add water bit by bit just till the dough comes together.  Immediately turn off mixer.  Put a piece of plastic wrap on your counter, take out dough and pat into a round on plastic wrap, cover all over and pop into fridge for about an hour or freezer for 15 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare the filling –

Spinach Filling

I actually used fresh spinach leaves for this but you can use frozen as well.  The most important thing is to squeeze out all the liquid possible or the filling will not set up properly in the oven and the eggs will not “custardize”.

3 cups fresh spinach OR 8 ounces frozen – it’s about a cup when wilted

3 large eggs

1/4 cup of Bacos

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

a grind of pepper

1/3 cup mayo

1/3 cup soy milk (or soy cream if you wish, it works with either)

1 small onion, chopped

2 tablespoons oil

OPTIONAL – cubed salami/kubanos, about 1/2 a cup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

If using fresh spinach, soak and wash leaves well, spin dry.  I leave a little wet on them and toss into an oil sprayed pan (my beloved Calphalon) and cover tightly with a lid.  Let steam on a low flame and you have the fun of watching it wilt to a quarter of its size.  Let cool and squeeze squeeze squeeze.  Wipe out the frying pan and sautee the onion in the oil till light brown. Leave to cool and whisk together the eggs, spices, mayo and soy milk.  Put the bacos into this mixture to soak.

Back to our pie crust.  Remove from fridge/freezer and sprinkle with a little flour, roll into circle on plastic and put oil sprayed pie plate on top of pastry.  Put your hand under and flip so pastry fits into pan. Adjust so it’s centered and pat down into pan.  Scatter sauteed onion on pie crust.  Take cooled spinach and chop it up.  Place on top of onion. Take liquid mixture and whisk one more time and pour over everything in pie plate.  Immediately put into hot oven and check after 30 minutes.  Depending on your oven, it might take up to 40 minutes.  It should be lightly browned and puffed and set in the middle.  You can check it with a toothpick to see if it comes out clean.  If it is very jiggly, put back in for another 5-10 minutes.