Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Where's the Eggs? Quiche Recipe Included

I just thought of something...the title of my blog refers to deviled eggs yet I don't have a multitude of variations for that or ANY egg dish.  I guess when I was coming up with the name for the blog I was more in a musical frame of mind than a food haze that day.  I also guess that I could have been more inventive with the titles of my posts by incorporating some sort of lyric or song theme into them too but really, do you care?  I didn't think so.

But in all seriousness eggs are so versatile.  You cook with them, you bake with them, they can be for breakfast, lunch or dinner, for making appetizers, and of course you can decorate them which takes it to a whole new "play with your food" level.
Scrambled, poached, fried, sun side up, soft boiled, hard boiled, omelets, with sauce, no sauce, with ketchup - flashback, Bubba Gump shrimp scene from Tom Hanks' Forrest Gump.
Last nights dinner was none of those, it was better...the QUICHE.

Did you know that the quiche actually originated in Germany?  Bet you didn't - most people think it came from France.  The word quiche is from the German Kuchen, meaning cake.  I don't recall eating quiche as a kid and my family immigrated from Germany in the 1950's - maybe its because Julia Child put it in her "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" cookbook in the 60's.  They didn't have the internet to prove her wrong so they never thought to make it.  I missed out.

A quiche can easily be described as a pastry shell with an egg/milk/cream mixture to which a variety of things can be added to personalize the tart.  Last night we had a ricotta and spinach quiche.  Ricotta is a light tasting cheese which goes nicely with the mellow egg.  You don;t even need to make your own pastry, store bought pie crusts work so well!!

Spinach and Ricotta Quiche

1 9" pie crust (not blind baking this one)
4 eggs
2 c. wilted spinach chopped (I like fresh products over frozen)
1/4 c. half and half cream
1 c. light ricotta
1/4 c. fresh Parmesan cheese (thinly grated)
1/8 tsp. fresh ground nutmeg
generous dashes of salt and cracked pepper

Super easy folks, whisk the eggs until pale yellow.  Add in the cream, ricotta and parm.  Blend to incorporate but don't over mix.  Stir in the nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste.
In the pie shell place 1/2 of the previously wilted and chopped spinach all over, pour the egg mixture over top and finish the top with the rest of the spinach.
Bake in a pre heated oven at 350 for about 40 minutes.
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