A quiche is a marvelous thing. For starters, it is a wonderful weekend egg indulgence easily enjoyed with a cup of coffee on a crisp fall morning like today (what a beautiful day today!). Perhaps just as important, a quiche can be made ahead of time and reheated, yet still taste just as good. A quiche is also the PERFECT vehicle for leftover ingredients hanging around your refrigerator.
This very morning I had a variety of ingredients in my refrigerator that needed to be consumed, including some baby spinach that was getting a little wilty (is that a word?), a ripe beefsteak tomato brought all the way from Ohio, some even riper cherry tomatoes, some fresh mozzarella and fresh basil. I also had a random pie crust taking up space in my freezer, which I have been trying desperately to clean out. So….with some eggs, milk, half and half, shallots and salt and pepper, the above featured quiche miraculously came to be our morning meal. As my father remarked, “I am not a quiche guy, but this is excellent.” This was both a random reference to the 1980s book, “Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche” as well as a somewhat rare complement.
You could easily make this recipe the day before and reheat it in the morning at 325 for about 15 minutes (until heated through). This is literally like a life preserver thrown to you as you swim to keep your head above water on that morning where you really don't feel like doing anything other than quietly drinking your coffee. Just pop it in the oven and you are good to go.
Tomato and Spinach Quiche
Prep time: 15 minsCook time: 40 minsTotal time: 55 mins
Serves: 6-8
An easy morning quiche of spinach, cherry and beefsteak tomatoes, eggs and mozzarella. Easily made ahead of time!
Ingredients
- 1 pre-made pie crust
- ½ tbsp of butter
- 1 tbsp finely chopped shallots
- 3 cups of baby spinach
- 1 tbsp chopped basil (with a few small leaves reserved for top)
- ½ cup to ¾ cup of quartered cherry tomatoes (half them if small)
- ½ cup of mozzarella, small cubes plus ⅛ cup for sprinkling on top
- 1 tbsp shredded Asiago or pecorino plus 1 tbsp for sprinkling on top
- 4 eggs
- ½ cup half and half
- ½ cup milk
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ½ of a beefsteak tomato, thinly sliced in rounds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Heat butter in small sauce pan until sizzling. Add shallots and saute for 2-3 minutes until they begin to brown.
- Add spinach and stir until wilted, about 2 minutes.
- Pour spinach mixture into the bottom of the pie crust, covering the bottom.
- Sprinkle cherry tomatoes, basil, ½ cup of the mozzarella and a tbsp of Asiago on top of spinach mixture.
- Combine eggs, milk, half and half and salt and pepper and mix with a hand or electric mixer. Pour egg mixture over spinach mixture.
- Top quiche with thinly sliced beefsteak tomatoes, small basil leaves and a sprinkling of fresh mozzarella and shredded Asiago.
- Cook at 375 for approximately 40 minutes.
Julie du Pont is a Darien resident, lawyer and mom. She blogs about food and entertaining at weekendtable.com. For more recipes and ideas, just visit weekendtable.com.
