Vegetable Quiche Pie

When I think of quiche, it usually includes masses of eggs, cream, bacon, and cheese. In other words, a delicious cholesterol special without much redeeming nutritional value. I received a recipe calendar as a gift, and spotted this cholesterol special right away. The focus on vegetables in the photo was appealing, and I really like pine nuts and Emmentaler cheese, so I decided to modify the recipe!

I’ve always used a typical pie plate for quiche in the past, but decided to copy this photo and use a tart pan for a wider, thinner pie. I did not prepare a crust from scratch, but intentionally used a standard American refrigerator version that was smaller than the crust pictured- it did not come all the way up the sides, which was ok. I’ve commented before on the nice selection of frozen veggies here in Germany, so I lucked out again with a box of chopped spinach which included a bit of cream, thus reducing my need to add butter and whole milk to the recipe.

Here’s what I did: mix 3 eggs plus ½ cup liquid egg substitute. Add ½ cup low fat milk if you are using frozen spinach, which will be wet as it thaws. Add 150 grams Emmentaler cheese (a nice, strong Swiss cheese). Mix in spinach. I sautéed a cup or more of mushrooms in a splash of oil and added the cut cherry tomatoes to give the mushrooms cooking liquid. The tomatoes didn’t look so glamorous in my finished product as in the recipe photo, but they tasted fine. I did not add extra salt.

The recipe does not instruct us to pre-bake the crust, but recommends pricking the crust with a fork a few times. Spread the vegetables and egg mixture over the crust, and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until the top is nicely browned. The temperature and time are honest guesses, since I’m using a German oven and forgot to time myself! I’d rather have a gently over-done pie than a soggy one, so use your judgment in removing the quiche from the oven. It tasted great! I didn’t stage a nice photo of a wedge of pie with pine nuts sprinkled because I cut the whole thing up into smaller pieces to bring to church, where it promptly disappeared.