Kale and Mushroom Quiche

Ok it's confession time: up until a year or so ago I was was afraid of making pie crust,homemade pie dough and homemade bread ( but that's another story for another time).

      Let's put that in perspective,I have been cooking like a mad woman for the last nine years and could count one hand the number of times I had made homemade pie crust or heck even a homemade pie for that matter. I tried one Christmas to make a few pumpkin pies in store-bought crusts and well it was a total disaster.

   I know,I know I know what the heck lady its flour and butter. 

 
 Seriously I was worried I'd mess it up sooooo I just didn't make a lot of pies or quiches. I made this pie crust a year or so ago and I was hooked. It's a shortening-based pie crust from the Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond. It's fairly straightforward and because the recipe makes three crust my anxiety was kept at bay until it slowly just went away.
 

    I had one pie dough recipe under my belt,confidence slightly restored and I was on the lookout to try more recipes. Fast-forward to this past Easter,we had some family and friends to our house for a big lunch. I put a deep-dish quiche on the menu. I have had and LOVE quiche. Egg dishes are a favorite breakfast item for me so my love for a quiche was natural. The quiche recipe I chose to serve was made in a 9-inch springform pan and the crust was no joke. All went well and the quiche,crust included.was a hit!

 This past Tueday,we got kale in our CSA share box and I knew one recipe I HAD to make: quiche. Quiche is also a great lunch main dish or light summer dinner idea that will fill you up without being too heavy. Kale holds up really well in a quiche. Mushrooms,fresh herbs,onion (not pictured) and TWO different kinds of cheese rounded out the recipe. I also added some lemon zest to brighten up the kale and mushrooms. 

  Now enter the custard mix: eggs,whole milk and ricotta.I added a few fresh herbs but not too many because I didn't want to overload the custard mixture.Ok so truth be told The idea of a quiche didn't really just appear to me in my appetite just because of a bunch of kale. Nope that's half of the story. A friend of mine keeps chickens and she recently brought me fresh eggs.            

          So let's do the math : fresh,beautiful,organic kale + farm-fresh eggs +  a flaky pie crust recipe = one heck of a quiche!  Yippeee!

     

Alrighty before we move on to my recipe I thought I'd offer up a few links that look pretty darn tasty and could up your quiche game.

Taste of Home magazine offers 10 ! different of their most requested quiche recipes.

Pioneer Woman has a recipe for a Cowboy Quiche that looks divine.

Fine Cooking magazine  has a fantasic make-your-own quiche recipe feature on their site that not only allows for YOUR variations,it also whips up a recipe for you based on your ingredients choices.

Here is the search page on simplyrecipes.com for the search word quiche. It's a wonderful,dependable recipe website I have used numerous times.

 Ok so here goes it with my quiche recipe. I threw it together sort of and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! 

Kale and Mushroom Quiche

adapted from my brain

Ingredients:

one recipe of pate' brisee ( pie crust) 

1/2 of a small bunch of kale- stems removed

  and chiffonaded 

1/2 cup mushrooms,diced

1/4 cup diced onion

6 eggs

1/2 cup ricotta ( you could substitute Greek yogurt or sour cream)

1/2 cup whole milk

2 TBL chopped fresh herb ( I used parsley and thyme.)

pinch of lemon zest

pinch of nutmeg

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella ( I added in some parmesan to 

   that 1 1/2 cup.)

Directions-

1. Pre-bake crust: roll out dough to fit a 9-inch pie plate,gently press into pie plate. Crumble up a piece of parchment paper then flatten it out.Place paper onto pie dough and fill with dried beans to hold down the paper. Bake pie dough on a baking sheet for 40-45 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool for 1 hour.

2. Saute' kale,mushrooms, and onion in a skillet with a little olive oil,until wilted and softened,10-15 minutes minutes or so. Set aside to cool.

3. In a medium sized mixing bowl combine eggs,ricotta,whole milk,fresh herbs,lemon zest,nutmeg,salt,and pepper. Stir to breakup the eggs and combine well. Next stir in the shredded cheese.

4.Spread the kale mixture around the cooled pie crust. Then gently pour the custard mixture on top of the kale. 

5.Bake for 40-50 minutes in a 325 degree oven. You will know the quiche is done when the center DOES NOT jiggle. Let cool for 10 minutes just to let everything set nicely,then devour. Well that's a word I don't type often,jiggle. Enjoy!