Meatless Monday Spinach, Ricotta and Asiago Quiche
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This here, folks, is my first installment in the Meatless Monday series on the blog. I’m fairly bursting with excitement about this! I have long wanted to talk with you about the absence of red meat in our diet here at the Circle B Kitchen, and, well, now the cat is out of the proverbial bag.
There are a couple of reasons why we don't eat red meat that I've explained here. But the upshot is that I have pledged my support to the Meatless Monday movement and every Monday hereafter I will be posting meatless. Sounds possibly risqué, eh?
And I’m very excited about this quiche. My favorite quiche recipe that I’ve used for years is very traditional (spinach, gruyere cheese) and quite delicious. Recently, I decided to play with the recipe a bit, and in my recent obsession with ricotta cheese, decided to add some to my quiche and see what happens. Well, I’m here to tell you that very good things happened.
The ricotta cheese created a super creamy, cheesy custard that we just loved. I also switched out the gruyere cheese for asiago and boy howdy was that ever good!! The aromas of that asiago cheese when the quiche came out of the oven were absolutely intoxicating!
We should maybe take a moment to talk about pie crust. I make my own, but you could certainly use a store-bought crust for this. I've actually never tried one, but I hear good things. In the recipe I've given you a link to my homemade crust which is pretty easy. My husband's grandmother taught me how to make her pie crust 40 years ago and it's the one I've made ever since...simple, rustic, delicious.
Perhaps it’s a bit of cliché to offer a quiche as a meatless entrée, but I will make no apologies here. This is definitely a meatless wonder for any night of the week.
Spinach, Ricotta and Asiago Quiche
1 10-inch pie crust (here's my recipe)
5 eggs
2 cups milk or half and half
2 tsp salt
½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 cup frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 large (or 2 small) shallots, minced
½ cup ricotta cheese, drained
1 ½ cups asiago cheese, grated
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Sauté shallot in a little olive oil. Add the spinach and a little salt and pepper. Saute and set aside.
Make pie crust and place in your pie pan. Add the spinach/shallot mixture and top with the grated asiago cheese.
Mix the eggs, milk, ricotta cheese, and salt and pour over the spinach.
Bake for 30 – 40 minutes.
Note: My 10-inch pie pan is deeper than most, so it took a little over 45 minutes to cook.
