Spinach & Feta Quiche
To those who know Evan and me, our love affair with breakfast food is no secret. We could eat it for any meal of the day. This weekend, I wanted to make something fun for brunch since I haven't done that in a while. It's also no secret that we both love mediterranean food, so I decided that a spinach and feta quiche would be fun to try out!
Quiche holds a special little place in my heart, not only because it's delicious, but because it's what Evan and I enjoyed at a brunch picnic about three years ago. I made a quiche, we packed some strawberries and coffee, and headed over to a local park. We ate the quiche straight out of the pie dish – the same dish you see above – and then he proposed. Every time I make quiche, I'm reminded of that day. Can you blame me for loving breakfast foods so much?
Some people might look at quiche and think of it as a pretty healthy breakfast option. And some quiches may be just that! Full disclosure: this one isn't. It does have a couple cups of spinach in it, but it also has a good amount of feta and evaporated milk. That's right – evaporated milk. Even fattier than whole milk! And it is delicious thanks to those fats. I don't mess around with my breakfast foods, y'all. (But hey, at least you're getting some iron and protein too – it's not all bad.
One of the many great things about quiches is that they can be a great way to use leftover ingredients in your fridge. This one was inspired by some leftover feta cheese I had on hand from a dinner this past week! I can't bear to waste cheese, so that's what led to the mediterranean spin on this recipe. In making the decision to do a mediterranean flavor profile, I might have had to pick up other ingredients too, but hey – whatever I can do to avoid wasting the feta.
This quiche is not one of those monstrously-thick quiches you tend to find at bakeries – it's on the smaller side, and on top of that I like to use a very thin crust. With that said, Evan and I can put away half of this thing for one meal. This means, mathematically speaking, I'll have to estimate that this recipe can serve between 4-6 people, depending on what other sides you're serving. And I know it might sound outrageous to say that a full-size quiche only serves 4 people...but it's damn good.
SPINACH & FETA QUICHE
Prep Time: ~40 minutes
Bake Time: 35 minutes
Serves 4-6
Ingredients 1 unbaked pie crust 1 T olive oil ½ - 1 shallot 2½ cups fresh spinach leaves, packed ¾ t salt ¼ t black pepper ¼ t Italian or Greek spice mix 1 cup evaporated milk 3 eggs ½ cup feta cheese
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 F. If needed, prepare your pie crust (or just take it out of the wrapper if you go with a premade one), then place it into a lightly greased pie dish. Bake the crust until it's slightly browned – follow the timing on your instructions or recipe for this. Keep in mind you don't want it to be fully done since it will be going back in the oven. When the crust is done, turn the oven down to 350F, and set the crust aside to cool down.
Pour the oil into a large skillet, and place over medium-high heat. As the oil heats up, thinly slice the shallot – use anywhere from a half to a full shallot, depending on your tastes. When the pan and oil are hot, add the shallot, and sauté until the slices start to turn golden brown, anywhere from 3-6 minutes. Add the spinach leaves to the pan with about half your salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the leaves have begun to wilt (about 1 minute). Take the spinach off the heat, and let cool.
In a medium bowl, whisk the evaporated milk and eggs together, and stir in the rest of your salt and pepper, as well as the Italian or Greek spice mix. Then, once the spinach mix is cool, add it to the egg mixture and stir. Last, gently stir half your feta cheese into the egg mix.
Slowly pour the egg mixture into the cooled pie crust, making sure the spinach and feta are distributed as evenly as possible. Sprinkle the top with however much you'd like to use the remaining feta – I actually like to use just under ½ cup total, so I'd use just under 1/4 cup to top it.
Bake for 35 minutes. Let it cool for about 5-10 minutes before serving so it's fully set! This will serve 4-6 people (it's not a tall, thick quiche) depending on whether you have other sides to enjoy along with it.
Happy Eating,
Natalie