Butternut Spinach Quiche—It’s What’s For Dinner!

To culminate this butternut squash laden week, I present you all with this recipe for a unique quiche, combining the light fluffiness of a spring quiche with the hearty flavors of autumn. This quiche would be great to serve for a fall brunch, although it holds up just fine for any time of day. If you like to make pie crust or have one in the fridge or freezer, go ahead and use it for this recipe (no need to prebake). I, however, have fallen in love with using thin sliced potatoes as a savory pie crust. It’s so quick and easy and doesn’t dirty extra dishes. If you haven’t tried this method yet, give it a shot!

Butternut Spinach Quiche

Ingredients:

Ingredients (plus milk, eggs, butternut squash, salt & pepper)

• 3 small potatoes (Heritage Farm CSA)
• 2 c. milk (Keepsake Farm)
• 6 eggs (Valley View Farms)
• 1.5 c. sliced roasted butternut squash (Heritage Farm CSA)
• 1 red onion (Heritage Farm CSA)
• 2 cloves garlic (Apple Ridge Farm)
• 1 poblano pepper (a friend’s garden)
• 2 c. fresh spinach
• 1/2 c. cheese (I used an assortment of cheddar, farmer’s and gouda from Keepsake Farm)
• drizzle of olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Thinly slice potatoes, using a mandolin if possible, and layer across bottom and up sides of deep pie plate. (If you only have a shallow pie plate and you end up with extra egg mixture later on, look at the bottom of the post for a bonus recipe!)
3. Brush potatoes with olive oil and bake for 15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, dice onion and finely chop garlic and poblano pepper.
5. Heat drizzle of olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and poblano and cook until onion is just translucent, stirring frequently.
   

   Onion, Garlic, Poblano

6. Chop spinach and add to skillet, cooking and stirring until spinach wilts.
7. Remove potatoes from oven and top with sliced roasted butternut squash.
8. Sprinkle onion and spinach mixture evenly over squash layer.
9. Grate cheese over onion and spinach mixture.
10. Whisk together eggs and milk until frothy.
11. Pour egg mixture over quiche fillings, leaving .25″ at top edge of crust. (If you have extra egg mixture, see below!)
12. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until center is set.
    

    A quiche even a man will be satisfied eating!

Bonus!

With this quiche, I used a smaller pie plate than usual for some reason, plus more filling than usual. As I poured the egg mixture, I realized I would have some extra. So, I whisked in some vanilla, cinnamon, and a touch of melted raspberry jam and poured it into a small baking dish. I stuck it in the oven next to the quiche and kept an eye on it until the center was set. A lovely dessert custard to go with the quiche!

Bonus Dessert Custard