SPINACH AND RICOTTA QUICHE

Recipe for an 8in round quiche

When I prepare this recipe, I usually do it over 2 days. On day one I make the dough and I prepare the baking shell, then I refrigerate it overnight and blind bake it, fill it and bake it on day 2.

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE PASTRY

-200g All Purpose flour (or a mix of 70%All Purpose and 30%Whole Wheat flour)

•⁠ ⁠100g cold unsalted butter, in small pieces

-50g ice cold water

FOR THE FILLING

-60g grated parmigiano cheese

-90g heavy cream or whole milk

-170g ricotta cheese

-3 large egg

-salt and pepper

-250g cooked spinach (I steam fresh or frozen spinach, then I lightly sautee them with garlic and olive oil)

-sliced almonds- optional

METHOD FOR THE PASTRY

-in a food processor, pulse butter and flour until a sand-like consistency is reached

-add the ice cold water and pulse just until a dough is formed

-make a ball with the dough, then flatten it to make a disc, and refrigerate wrapped in plastic until cold and firm.

-with a rolling pin, roll the dough to form a disc 1in bigger than the diameter of the pie dish

-prepare your shell as you would do for a pie, and crimp the edges

-refrigerate until cold and firm

MAKE THE FILLING:

-in a medium size bowl, beat the eggs with ricotta, milk, parmigiano. Season with salt and pepper and add cooked spinach. Mix well to make a cream consistency filling.

BLIND BAKE THE SHELL

-when ready to bake, preheat your oven at 400F

-cover your cold quiche shell with a parchment paper disc, then fill the shell with dry beans (this will prevent the dough from bubbling up while baking)

-bake your shell until dry golden brown on the edges. If under the beans the shell is still moist, remove the beans and bake for an additional 5 minutes

-pull from the oven and set aside

FINISH THE QUICHE

-pour the filling in the pre-baked quiche shells and top with sliced almonds.

-bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes until the center is cooked and firm and the top lightly golden.

Let cool down before slicing to obtain a clean cut.

NOTE

I always recommend to pre-bake the shells before adding the filling to have a nice, flaky and crispy pastry.

Refrigerate your quiche for up to 5 days, or freeze it for longer storage.