[greeneyes]

I love quiche. Do you have a great recipe for spinach quiche? My winter garden has produced some bountiful harvests of spinach this year, and I am eating it almost daily and freezing some too.

Today I tried a new recipe for Thai Stir Fry Spinach:

1/2 Tbls EVOO
1/4 Tbls minced garlic
2 Cups Fresh Spinach
1/2 Tbls fish sauce
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp raw sugar(regular is ok too)
1 Tbls water
1/16 tsp red curry paste

Heat the oil a bit, add garlic and cook just a little, then add the spinach.

After about a minute, turn the spinach over and stir with spoon, and the other ingredients all at once(I mixed them before I started and kept them sitting by the stove).

Put the lid on for about a minute, then stir a bit more till done as you like. All together about 2 minutes from start to finish of cooking for me.

[Jamestown1630]

Actually, I had planned on posting a spinach-mushroom tart that I’ve been making since the ‘seventies. It came from The New York Times Natural Foods Cookbook, and has a whole-wheat crust, mushrooms, spinach and Swiss cheese in an egg custard.

It’s great, but I couldn’t find it online anywhere, and it was too long to type up last night. I’ll post it over the weekend.

I remember the first time I made it, I was constantly going to the ‘fridge and stealing little bits of it to eat cold :-)

[Jamestown1630]

Here’s the Spinach Tart recipe that I promised. It’s one of my favorite dishes, and came from the New York Times Natural Foods Cookbook, published in the early 1970s:

http://www.amazon.com/York-Times-Natural-Foods-Cookbook/dp/038000951X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429368300&sr=8-1&keywords=New+york+times+natural+foods+cookbook

The reviews indicate how well-loved this book still is.

Spinach Tart

For the pastry:

1 cup stoneground whole wheat flour

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/2 cup butter

1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

For the filling:

2 cups shredded fresh spinach leaves

2 tablespoons finely chopped onion

1/4 teaspoon crushed rosemary

1 cup sliced mushrooms

3 tablespoons sweet butter

1 tablespoon whole wheat flour

1 cup grated Swiss cheese

1-1/2 cups heavy cream

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Few grains cayenne pepper

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon raw sugar (I leave this out.)

To prepare pastry, place flour and salt in a bowl. Cut in the butter, then add the ice water a tablespoon at a time until mixture feels wet and almost slimy. (Whole grain flour will absorb moisture more slowly than regular flour). Form into a ball and chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Roll the chilled dough to 1/4 inch thickness between sheets of wax paper, making a circle to fit a 10-inch pie pan. Peel the layer off one side an press dough into an oiled, 10-inch pie pan. Carefully peel off the top layer of wax paper. (To be honest, I usually just plop the dough ball into the pan, and work it in with my fingers to cover the pan.)

Bake 5 minutes.

To make the filling:

Place spinach, onion and rosemary in a saucepan with a little water (maybe a tablespoon) and cook, covered, until wilted. Drain. Place in an electric blender and blend until smooth, using a little of the cooking liquid if necessary.

Increase the oven to 400 degrees.

Saute the mushrooms briefly in the sweet butter. Sprinkle with the tablespoon of flour and cook, stirring, one minute.

Place mushroom mixture in bottom of partially cooked pie shell. Top with the spinach puree and sprinkle with the Swiss cheese.

Beat the cream and eggs together, and add salt, pepper, cayenne, nutmeg and sugar. Pour over the mixture in the pie shell.

Bake 15 minutes; then reduce oven heat to 325 degrees and bake about 30 minutes longer, or until puffed and browned and set. Cool slightly before serving. Yields 8 to 10 servings.

[Jamestown1630]

I learned a great spinach recipe from Korean friends. Here’s a very close recipe to what I do. It’s wonderful cold, in the summer, and makes up fast:

http://www.food.com/recipe/sigumchi-namul-korean-spinach-salad-kimchi-320175

I don’t really blanch the spinach, though. I put a very little water in a fry pan and wilt the spinach; then add the other ingredients and chill. Serve with some soy sauce.

(How do you freeze your spinach? It’s so tender, I never thought of trying to freeze it; I thought you’d need to do it some high-tech way to get it flash-frozen very fast.)

-JT