Spanakopita Quiche

I LOVE spanakopita (aka that lovely greek dish, spinach pie). I find few places that do it deliciously though, and never found a good one pre-made in my grocery store.

So, I figured why not make my own? And I did – and it was lovely but soo time consuming. All those layers of fiddly phyllo and it just sogs up so badly after being refrigerated. Then I had my ah-ha, why not make it into a quiche? I adore quiche but sometimes they’re just a bit too egg-y and I want something more substantial. This seemed like an excellent pairing.

I got out my favorite spinach pie recipe and basically just dumped it in a pie crust and it was as AMAZING as I thought it would be. Because I love broccoli and spinach can be very strong by itself I chose to put in a head of broccoli as well. I found this rounded it out nicely in flavor and texture.

Greek Spinach and Broccoli Quiche

Prep time approx 45 min
Cook time 45-65 min

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bag of baby spinach, rinsed
2 crown broccoli – separated and stems removed to about 1 inch
2 eggs, lightly beaten
16 oz ricotta cheese
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 pie crusts (I really like Achatz pie crust – it has normal ingredients and none of the added sweetness of other ready made crusts)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Steam broccoli until just fork tender at the stems. This lowers the time the pies need in the oven to cook the broccoli through.

3. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion, and garlic, until soft and lightly browned. Stir in spinach and continue to saute until spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes. If there is excess liquid that is not cooking off (from the rinsed spinach), be sure to drain or it may sog your crust. Remove pan from heat and add broccoli and feta, stir well.

4. In a medium bowl, mix together eggs and ricotta until blended. Mix in 2 T pepper and 1 T salt. Combine into mixture from step 3 and mix well.

5. Lay pie crust into pie pan – I used a deep dish pie pan so the crust required no trimming / crimping. Spread 1/2 of spinach broccoli and cheese mixture into each pan gently.

6. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown. Cut into 6 slices and serve while hot.

Store in fridge, covered. To reheat, you can either place a slice in the oven on foil for 5-10 minutes at 350 or place on a paper towel in microwave for approx 1 minute depending on wattage. The paper towel will keep the bottom crust from getting too moist. I find the upper crust stays flaky even when microwaving.

Ed. Note: Chris stuck a slice of bacon on top and pronounced it the best thing ever.