Gruyere quiche with caramelized peppers, onions and spinach

I made this yummy little number from Whole Foods for Easter brunch this year.  There is a Brazilian restaurant in town that makes a delicious quiche, and my goal was to imitate it.  The keys to making the copycat version are the red bell pepper and spinach- the Gruyere cheese may be poetic license, but this version was delicious and definitely a keeper!

GRUYERE QUICHE WITH CARAMELIZED PEPPERS, ONIONS AND SPINACH

Yield: 1 pie

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and thinly sliced

1 red onion, thinly sliced

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 pound baby spinach leaves

4 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup milk

3/4 cup grated Gruyère cheese, divided

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1 refrigerated pie crust

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add peppers, onions, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until deep golden brown and caramelized, 10 to 12 minutes; transfer mixture to a large bowl. Return skillet to heat, add remaining 1/2 tablespoon olive oil and spinach and cook, tossing often, until completely wilted and liquid is evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes; transfer to bowl with onions and peppers and set aside.

Add eggs, milk, 1/2 cup of the Gruyère, salt and pepper to bowl with onion mixture and mix well. Transfer to pie crust, top with remaining 1/4 cup Gruyère and bake until deep golden brown and cooked through, about 45 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly then cut into slices and serve.

Spinach and pepperoni quiche

We love quiche at this house, and sometimes it's hard to find a variety outside of the usual Quiche Lorraine, so I was excited when I came across this pepperoni version from Taste of Home. It has tons of flavor, and it makes excellent leftovers, too!!

SPINACH AND PEPPERONI QUICHE

Ingredients:

1 refrigerated pie crust

1 large red bell pepper, chopped

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

5 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1/4 cup sliced pepperoni, cut into strips

1/4 cup half-and-half cream

2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

1 Tbsp minced fresh parsley

1 Tbsp minced fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil

Salt and black pepper, to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Place refrigerated pie crust in a 9" pie plate.  

In a small skillet, saute bell pepper in oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Remove from the heat. In another small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; add bell pepper mixture. Pour into crust.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting. 

Mediterranean quiche

We were feeling inspired from the success of our last quiche, so we tried it again with a Mediterranean twist.  I used the custard base from the Quiche Lindsay, then added sauteed spinach (directions here), sundried tomatoes, kalamata olives, fontina cheese and goat cheese.

Ingredients:
1 refrigerated pie crust
3/4 cup fontina cheese, shredded
3/4 cup sauteed spinach, chopped
Sundried tomatoes, thinly sliced (I used 4-5 marinated ones from the Kroger salad bar)
3 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup skim milk
1/4 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper
Olives (I used kalamata from the Kroger salad bar)
2 oz goat cheese, crumbled

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Place refrigerated pie crust in a 9-inch pie plate.  Layer shredded fontina cheese, sauteed spinach, and sundried tomatoes in the bottom of the crust.  In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, cream and milk.  Season with thyme, salt, and pepper; pour mixture into pie crust and top with olives.  Bake in the oven for 25 minutes, then lower heat to 375 degrees and bake an additional 15 minutes.  Once the custard is set, broil for 3-4 minutes to brown the top, then let set for 10 minutes before serving.

Pie Week: Quiche Lindsay

To wrap up Pie Week and to give your sweet tooth a break, our finale pie is a savory one- quiche!  Quiche is a great, flexible dish because you can add anything you like to it.  I made this one up out of thin air, hence the name Quiche Lindsay.  Clever, I know.

Ingredients:
1 refrigerated pie crust
shredded cheese (I used gouda and mozzarella.  Sorry, no measurement- depends on your preferred level of cheesiness)
3 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup skim milk
5 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
1 bell pepper
5 scallions, sliced
2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Place refrigerated pie crust in a 9-inch pie plate.  Layer  shredded cheese in the bottom of the crust.  In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, cream and milk.  Stir in the chopped bacon, bell pepper, and 4 of the scallions.  Season with salt and pepper, then pour mixture into pie crust.  Arrange tomato slices on top, then bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes.  Once the custard is set, broil for 3-4 minutes to brown the top.  Let set for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with remaining scallion.

Easter brunch

We hosted Easter brunch at our house last weekend with quiche, shrimp and grits, and fresh fruit, and Christy brought a phenomonal Cadbury pie baked by a friend of hers.  The quiche was basically Emeril's quiche lorraine with a few add-ins: I layered fresh spinach and chopped tomatoes with the bacon before I covered it with the egg mixture.  I also used a Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust, which is an excellent shortcut for homemade.  The shrimp and grits recipe was from Food & Wine magazine, and you'll notice a recurring theme - bacon!  Our motto is you can never have too much!  Everything tasted fantastic, and it was all pretty simple to pull together, too.  Bon appetit!