Quiche me, you fool!

I decided that I wanted to make a quiche. Why? Not sure. I wanted something that I could eat all week long without getting sick of it, I wanted something vaguely substantial when paired with some additional veggies, and I wanted something that required a pie crust because MAN, was I dying to make me some crust!

Quiche was a natural fit. I also had some veggies from the farmer's market I had picked up on Saturday morning and leftover goat cheese from my pizza escapades last week.

After re-watching "Easy A" on Sunday afternoon, I was fully inspired...

Spell-It-With-Your-Peas Quiche

I tried to spell "twat" on this quiche but it didn't work. Stupid peas...



Ingredients:

For the crust...

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 pinch additional salt
1 stick cold salted butter, cut into chunks
1 egg

Mix up the flours and salt; I do all my crusts in my beloved KitchenAid mixer. (It's my fanciest kitchen appliance, and so I use it as often as possible.) Add in your cold chunks of butter (how appealing is THAT?) and let that mix up until the flour just looks kind of chunky and crumbly. Crack an egg into a glass or bowl, add in 2 tbsp. cold water, beat 'em up, and pour into the mixer bowl while the mixer is running. Once it comes together like dough, form it into a flat-thick disc, wrap it in plastic wrap, and pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Hey! 30 minutes have gone by! Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Once it's nice and chilly, roll it into a large circle big enough to fit a 9" pie pan (I go glass). Lay the dough in the pan (transporting the dough loosely rolled onto your rolling pin is a nice way to make sure it doesn't tear or crumple on you) and press to form your shell. Let it cool (in the fridge if necessary; I put mine on a windowsill like a cartoon character) while you make the filling.

For the rest...

1 cup fresh peas (or thawed from frozen peas)
2 cloves garlic (or 1 monster clove if you have mutant garlic like I had), finely chopped
1 medium-sized summer squash, sliced into thin semi-circles
2 cups arugula, roughly chopped
olive oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup 2% milk
1/4 cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt
salt and pepper at will
crumbled goat cheese (herbed, if you like)

If you have fresh peas, boil them until tender. (Mine took a long time, but I hear most take more like 4 minutes.) Drain, rinse, and set aside. (Make sure they get nice and dry; I didn't. Mistake.)

Add bit of olive oil to a large saute pan over medium heat. Once warm, add the garlic and cook until it starts to soften. Add squash and cook until THAT starts to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the arugula to pan, and toss until it wilts, about 1 minute. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside to cool slightly.

In a medium bowl or large measuring cup. beat eggs, milk, yogurt, salt, and pepper until smooth. Add to the bowl of vegetables, and mix until it's as evenly mixed as it's going to get. Pour into the cooled crust.

Crumble however much goat cheese strikes your fancy on top. (My boyfriend isn't nuts about cheese, so I only used a bit; I've seen other recipes that call for a whole log. Whatever.) Lay peas in an even layer on top of everything.

Bake 40 minutes, until egg filling is set. Allow to cool slightly, about 5 - 10 minutes, then slice it up! Good hot, cold, at room temperature...


And I tell you now, a slice of this for lunch during the week will REALLY improve your at-work morale.