From our food contributor,DianaBauman. 
Spring is my favorite season of the year. Being from Iowa, it’s a breath of fresh air, literally, to be able to spend time outdoors as the weather warms and the cycle of life begins anew. As much as I enjoy spring time and all that it brings, it also happens to be a busy season in my life. With 2 boys and a husband in baseball and an urban homestead to keep up on, I intentionally seek out and prepare meals that come together quickly. One spring ingredient I take full advantage of are eggs. I know what you’re thinking, “eggs are available year round.” Well, yes they are; however, having raised backyard hens for 5 years, I’ve come to learn that they are indeed seasonal.In the winter, hens need to conserve body heat and so they produce fewer eggs. When spring arrives and the weather warms and the daylight increases, their egg production soars. I’m currently getting around 10-11 eggs per day whereas in the winter my hens would only lay about 2-3 eggs per day.Their egg production usually stays up until the heat of summer kicks in around July and August. At that time, their egg production slows and gradually increases as the weather cools in fall. Then when winter arrives, their egg production is nearly halted until the spring comes again. The reason hensraised commercially are able to produce eggs year round is that they are kept in an environment that is neutral with heat, light, and grains so that they are able to lay continually, year round. Isn’t it neat to be in touch with the seasons and cyclical patterns of life?For now, my family is living in an abundance of eggs and nothing makes me happier since they area traditional source of complete protein and nutrition.
A Self Crusting, Dark Leafy Green Quiche
One of my favorite way to use our abundance of eggs packed full of nutrients is by making a quiche – a light dish, perfect for a spring time brunch or supper. A quiche is essentially a custard that is made with milk and eggs and then poured into a pastry crust to be baked.As delightful as a traditional quiche is, I’m oftentimes to busy in this season to make the crust, allow it to firm up in the fridge, roll it out, and then mold it into a pie dish. Instead, on busy spring days, I usually make a self crusting quiche that forms itself by the addition of flour and a bit of baking powder. It creates its own darkened type crust right in the oven as it’s baking.It saves me so much time and makes this dish come together in literally minutes! For this particular quiche, I added dark leafy greens of swiss chard, kale, and spinach. Together with cheddar and pecorino romano cheeses, this quiche is light, creamy, and savory. What’s great about a quiche is that it can be eaten warm, at room temperature, or cold. On days that my family has ball games to play, I’ll usually whip up a self crusting quiche during the day and refrigerate it to eat cold later in the evening. A quick, nourishing, and satisfying spring meal.
A Self Crusting, Dark Leafy Green Quiche
Recipe Type: Dinner
Cuisine: French
Author: Diana Bauman
Serves: 4-5
A self crusting, dark leafy green quiche. A perfectly light, quick to make spring meal your entire family will enjoy.
Ingredients
- 2 tbls extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 cups packed dark leafy greens (like spinach, swiss chard, kale)
- 1/4 cup water
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup flour (for gluten free, sub oat flour)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano Cheese or Parmesan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Lightly butter a 10-inch pie plate
- In a skillet or cast iron pan, heat 2 tbls of extra virgin olive oil and saute the onion until translucent. Add 2 cups, dark leafy greens and the water. Cook until the greens just start to wilt; 3-4 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and the milk. Add the cheddar cheese and mix though. Add the flour, baking powder and salt; whisk through then stir in the greens and onions.
- Pour the contents of the bowl into the pie plate. Top with the Pecorino Romano cheese.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the center is set and the outside edges are golden brown.
What are your favorite meals to whip up on busy days?
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FAQs
Butter crackers, especially the perfect consistency of the Ritz cracker, make for an ideal ingredient to use in a pie crust. This ingredient works well for both savory (like quiches) and sweet pies.
What are 5 tips for making a quiche? ›
Here are a few tips that will help you make the best quiche possible:
- Know Your Ratios. The number one trick to a good quiche is the perfectly fluffy egg filling. ...
- Keep the Crust Safe. Your pie crust is one of the quintessential elements of a quiche. ...
- Take Shortcuts. ...
- Cook Ahead. ...
- Less is More.
Blind Bake the Crust
This prevents it from getting soggy. Davila suggests blind baking your crust at 350 F for seven minutes, in addition to the overall baking time. Use professional pie weights to avoid bubbles in your crust, but any variety of raw dried beans poured into the crust would also work.
How do you make the bottom of a quiche crust crispy? ›
Blind Bake the Crust
One of the fool-proof ways to ensure a crisp bottom pie crust is to do what is called blind baking. This simply means that you bake the crust—either fully if you are adding a custard or cream that won't be cooked, or partially if the whole pie needs to bake—before adding the filling.
What is quiche without crust called? ›
A frittata, sometimes called a crustless quiche, has no crust, and you can bake it directly in a pan or skillet.
Can I substitute milk for heavy cream in quiche? ›
Can I substitute the heavy cream in quiche? Short answer: Yes. Recommended substitutes: Half-and-half or whole milk.
Should quiche be in a glass or metal pan? ›
We would always choose aluminum. We use a sandwich tin because the pastry is crisp and they are quite deep, so have a generous amount of filling. Click on the picture and you can have a look at the tin we use being used in our cookery school.
Can you put too many eggs in a quiche? ›
The Kitchn cautions that using too many eggs can make the consistency of the quiche rubbery and tough, while using too few eggs can prevent the custard filling from setting properly, giving you a runny, soggy quiche. The recommended proportion is one egg to one-half cup of cream or milk.
Should you beat eggs for quiche? ›
BEAT eggs, milk, thyme and salt in medium bowl until blended. Carefully POUR over filling in pie shell. BAKE in center of 375°F oven until center is almost set but jiggles slightly when dish is gently shaken and knife inserted near center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes.
What is the best baking dish for quiche? ›
A springform pan lets you create a deep, impressive quiche, and thanks to its removable sides, you can showcase your work. This is chef Thomas Keller's pan of choice. If you prefer less filling and a very neat-looking quiche, the tart pan is for you. Thanks to the removable bottom, you can easily unmold it.
A good quiche custard typically features: 1 large egg to 1/2 cups of dairy. The dairy can be any combination of milk and/or half-and-half, for example: 1 large egg : ½ cup milk. 1 large egg : ½ cup half-and-half.
Should vegetables be cooked before putting in quiche? ›
Cook your veggies first
Kristin Beringson, the executive chef at Henley in Nashville, told Real Simple need to be pre-cooked before being added to your quiche. She said vegetables can take longer to cook than the egg custard, so pre-cooking them — whether sautéing or steaming — helps the whole dish cook evenly.
What is a good pie crust substitute? ›
Cookie or Cracker Crust
This crust allows for a lot of flexibility and creativity. From graham crackers to saltines, there are as many cookie and cracker options for this crust as there are fillings for pie. As a general rule, I use 2 cups crushed cookies or crackers to 3 tablespoons melted butter.
What is a substitute for a tart shell? ›
If making tart shells for fruit cups try a muffin tin and pre-bake. What is a good substitute for a tart pan? If it is something like an apple tart, just use a flat baking sheet and free-form the crust — a free-form tart is also called a galette. Put your pie plate upside down on a baking sheet.
What dish is similar to quiche? ›
Frittatas are Italian in origin and can be described as a cross between an omelet and a crustless quiche. Frittatas take less time to make than quiche or strata. The dish is traditionally made by beating eggs with dairy—often heavy cream or half and half—together with ingredients like vegetables, meats and cheeses.
Spring is my favorite season of the year. Being from Iowa, it’s a breath of fresh air, literally, to be able to spend time outdoors as the weather warms and the cycle of life begins anew. As much as I enjoy spring time and all that it brings, it also happens to be a busy season in my life. With 2 boys and a husband in baseball and an urban homestead to keep up on, I intentionally seek out and prepare meals that come together quickly. One spring ingredient I take full advantage of are eggs. I know what you’re thinking, “eggs are available year round.” Well, yes they are; however, having raised backyard hens for 5 years, I’ve come to learn that they are indeed seasonal.In the winter, hens need to conserve body heat and so they produce fewer eggs. When spring arrives and the weather warms and the daylight increases, their egg production soars. I’m currently getting around 10-11 eggs per day whereas in the winter my hens would only lay about 2-3 eggs per day.Their egg production usually stays up until the heat of summer kicks in around July and August. At that time, their egg production slows and gradually increases as the weather cools in fall. Then when winter arrives, their egg production is nearly halted until the spring comes again. The reason hensraised commercially are able to produce eggs year round is that they are kept in an environment that is neutral with heat, light, and grains so that they are able to lay continually, year round. Isn’t it neat to be in touch with the seasons and cyclical patterns of life?For now, my family is living in an abundance of eggs and nothing makes me happier since they area traditional source of complete protein and nutrition.
One of my favorite way to use our abundance of eggs packed full of nutrients is by making a quiche – a light dish, perfect for a spring time brunch or supper. 
A quiche is essentially a custard that is made with milk and eggs and then poured into a pastry crust to be baked.As delightful as a traditional quiche is, I’m oftentimes to busy in this season to make the crust, allow it to firm up in the fridge, roll it out, and then mold it into a pie dish. Instead, on busy spring days, I usually make a self crusting quiche that forms itself by the addition of flour and a bit of baking powder. It creates its own darkened type crust right in the oven as it’s baking.It saves me so much time and makes this dish come together in literally minutes! 
For this particular quiche, I added dark leafy greens of swiss chard, kale, and spinach. Together with cheddar and pecorino romano cheeses, this quiche is light, creamy, and savory. What’s great about a quiche is that it can be eaten warm, at room temperature, or cold. On days that my family has ball games to play, I’ll usually whip up a self crusting quiche during the day and refrigerate it to eat cold later in the evening. A quick, nourishing, and satisfying spring meal.