Spinach quiche
Tips
First, do not overwork the dough. Be gentle with it as handling it too much can result in a tough and dense crust. Use cold butter and combine the dough quickly by adding a bit of water at a time. Remember to allow it to chill for at least 30 minutes before you pre-bake it.
Tips
Before pre-baking it, use a fork to prick the bottom of the crust several times to prevent air bubbles from forming. This ensures a more level crust that bakes evenly. If you want to, you can place a sheet of parchment paper over the crust and fill it with pie weights, dried beans, or uncooked rice to help weigh down the crust and prevent it from puffing up during pre-baking. Bake the crust in a preheated oven until it is lightly golden and set.
Tips
Let the crust cool before adding the filling to prevent the quiche from becoming watery. If you add the filling to a hot or warm crust, the heat can cause the moisture in the filling to evaporate and create steam, which can make the filling more liquid and difficult to set properly.
Questions about spinach quiche
With an easy-to-follow recipe for spinach quiche with cottage cheese like this one, making the perfect picnic meal is quite simple. To learn more about it, continue reading down below about this French-inspired delicacy.
Ingredients
Crust:
|
Graham flour (approx. 225 ml)
|
125 g |
|---|---|
|
Wheat flour (approx. 2¼ dl)
|
125 g |
|
Butter
|
150 g |
|
Water
|
2½ tbsp |
Filling
|
Cottage cheese, 4%
|
200 g |
|---|---|
|
Grated cheddar and maasdam cheese
|
100 g |
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Eggs
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3 |
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Frozen whole-leaf spinach, thawed
|
500 g |
|
Coarse salt
|
1 tsp |
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Grated nutmeg
|
1 tsp |
|
Freshly churned pepper
|
¼ tsp |
Delicious spinach quiche with cottage cheese
Spinach quiche is a classic dish that never gets old! The savoury filling with sweet, earthy spinach has a rich, complex, and well-rounded flavour profile. Paired with a buttery crust, you get a great combination of flavours as well as textures, ranging from the tender filling to the delicate crust, which is both flaky and crispy.
Using a mix of regular wheat flour and graham flour serves to make a spinach quiche with a crust that is both crispy and flavourful. The graham flour has a slightly sweet and nutty flavour that complements the flavours of the filling wonderfully and highlights its taste of umami. This special type of flour also gives the crust a beautiful golden-brown colour that makes this spinach quiche with cottage cheese stand out among its peers.
Classic egg and cheese filling with warm nutmeg
A classic French quiche is made with a scrumptious savoury custard with eggs and cheese. Normally milk and/or cream would also be used but in our spin on the classic, we have opted instead for cottage cheese. This gives the filling a fresher-tasting flavour with more salty undertones. These notes as well as the fresh cheese's slight tanginess help enhance the flavour of the delicate spinach.
The best spinach quiche filling must of course be well-seasoned, and this includes more than simply salt and pepper. Nutmeg is a common ingredient in quiche fillings but that does not make it any less special. It is a versatile spice that can add a wonderful warmth and slightly sweet flavour to any filling. In our case, it complements the richness of the cheese and eggs and serves to enhance their savouriness to create an incredibly tasty spinach and cottage cheese quiche.
Perfect for a summer picnic or as an easy dinner option
A quiche with cottage cheese and spinach for lunch or dinner is sure to leave you full and satisfied. Whether you serve it with great sides like salads, roasted vegetables, or crusty bread, it makes for a filling, savoury meal. Since it may be enjoyed cold as well as warm, it works incredibly well as part of a tasty picnic spread with other light summer dishes that may be served at different temperatures. For ease, you can even prepare it the day before and bring it with you to a nearby park in your most idyllic wicker basket.
In case our easy spinach quiche with cottage cheese has inspired you to create a delectable picnic spread, you should have a look at some of our other great picnic recipes for chicken sandwiches, cheese tartlets, and savoury olive bread as well.
Try a spinach quiche with bacon
One of the most popular variations is to make a spinach quiche with bacon. Bacon infuses the dish with a lot of great additional umami flavours ranging from salty to smoky. These savoury flavours pair well with the rich egg and cheese filling as it serves to enhance its natural savouriness. The salty addition also heightens the overall flavour profile of the filling by offsetting the natural sweetness of the leafy greens.
For a heartier version of this spinach quiche with bacon, try adding your favourite mushrooms as well. The meaty and earthy mushroom flavour pairs nicely with the smoky and salty flavour of bacon. If the bacon is especially salty, mushrooms like shiitake, cremini, button and/or oyster mushrooms may serve to balance this saltiness to create a well-rounded mushroom and spinach quiche with bacon. Remember to cook your mushrooms of choice well before adding them to the filling so they do not release their liquids and make the quiche runny.
