Early in the farmer’s market season, the one thing farmers have in abundance is spring greens. From late April until about July, here in Kansas we get plenty of spinach, kale, arugula and chard. Spinach is fairly versatile and can be used in salads, but the rest of the spring greens can look and taste intimidating with their bitterness and somewhat harsher texture. I like to sneak as many greens into our diet and have found that one way to make these spring greens palatable is baking them in a quiche. You can use any of the these greens — if you’re using spinach or arugula, use at least one pound, if it’s kale or chard, go with a fairly large bunch.
Ingredients For filling: 1 bunch kale or chard (or 1 lb. spinach or arugula) 1 medium onion, chopped 4 cloves garlic, minced 3 eggs ¾ cup milk 2 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese ¼ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
For crust: 1½ cup whole-wheat pastry flour salt to taste 7 Tablespoons butter 7 Tablespoons cold water
To make the crust, mix flour with salt and work the butter in with a pastry cutter or a fork. Slowly add the water and make into a dough ball. Cover in plastic, set it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
While the dough is cooling, wash the greens, remove any big stems if you’re using kale or chard. Blanch in boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes. Chop coarsely. Sauté onion and garlic, cook for 5 minutes. Add the greens, cook for an additional couple of minutes. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs, add the milk, season with salt and pepper.
Roll the pie crust out on a floured surface. Place it in a 9-inch dish. Put the veggies on pie crust, spread the mozzarella, then pour the egg and milk mixture. Top with parmesan. Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes. Serves up to 8 with a side salad or soup.
The neat thing about quiche is, once you get the hang of it, you can tweak the ingredients as you wish. Use different cheeses, heavy cream instead of milk, feel free to add more sautéed vegetables and any fresh herbs you might find at the farmer’s market. Trust me, real men eat do quiche, in fact it’s one of the only ways to get them to eat greens!
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