Spinach Ricotta Cheese Quiche
Friday, May 9th, 2008 02:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
forchancookieOur fridge is full of veggies that my mother keeps on buying and never cooking, so when they've been in there for a while, I have to scramble to think of something to do with them. Last night, we had some zucchini on their way out. There was also some ricotta about to go South. We had spinach in the freezer and just enough eggs for a quiche. We didn't have any pre-made pie crusts though and I hate making dough. There was an ancient copy of The Joy of Cooking on the counter that my great-grandmother gave to my mom in 1976 according to the inscription. It was published sometime in the 30s of 40s (the date isn't clear) and it shows its age. I flipped through and found what sounded like an easy recipe for pie crust, and it was!
Hot Water Pie Crust
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of butter (it originally called for lard)
1/4 cup of boiling water
1 1/2 cups of cake flour (I used all-purpose)
1/2 teaspoon any baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Tools:
Electric mixer
Place butter in a bowl. Pour boiling water over it. Beat these ingredients until they are cold and creamy. If there is time, chill them. Sift flour. Re-sift with baking powder and salt. Combine liquid and sifted ingredients and stir them until they form a smooth ball. Cover t he dough and chill it until it is firm. Roll when ready to use.
My Notes:
I replaced the lard with butter and it worked just fine. At first I tried to combine my water and butter with a fork but that did not work at all. Just bust out the mixer and it works beautifully. I also mixed in the dry ingredients with the mixer. You get to see that pea state that most dough recipes talk about that I have a hell of a time with. The recipe claims to make 1 two crust pie, but I only got one crust out of it with a little excess. It's possible I didn't roll it enough. It turned out wonderfully either way. The dough was a bit salty, but it worked with the quiche. If I were going to use it for a fruit pie, I'd use unsalted butter.
---
It's a really easy recipe and it worked! I made pie dough! I avoid making pie dough like the plague! But it worked! *dances* So if you're like me and can't make pie dough, well, now you can. Now onto the quiche part. This one is a little different because it's uses ricotta, so you get a much softer texture. It's quite yummy, though I did modify it a bit for some extra flavor. ^_^
Spinach Ricotta Cheese Quiche
Ingredients:
1 8oz. container of Ricotta
3 beaten eggs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar
6 tbsp milk
1 box of chopped frozen spinach cooed and well drained
salt and pepper
pie crust
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Beat the eggs and blend in the ricotta cheese. Add the Parmesan, cheddar, milk and spinach. Mix well. Pour into crust.
Bake at 400 for 10 minutes, then turn down to 325 and continue to bake for 45 to 60 minutes.
My Notes:
Let the quiche sit and cool before serving it. It actually gets tastier after sitting in the fridge over night. The leftovers are yummier than the initial warm slice. I used this recipe as a guideline really. For one thing, I added the cheddar to the recipe because even with the Parmesan, the recipe seemed a bit bland. It needed more flavor and more salt. You could change the cheese, just make sure it's a salty, flavorful one. You could even up the Parmesan if you wanted. I used 12 oz. of Ricotta because we had a container that needed to be used. I also added a cup of shredded zucchini that I steamed in the microwave. It also needed to be used. My quiche is really dense with vegetables and very filling. Feel free to experiment with the quiche recipe. After all, recipes are just asking to be fiddled with.
---
And here's pictures of my quiche.
Here it is ready to pop into the oven.
And here it is fresh from the oven. The flash on this camera completely bleached the color out of the crust. =/ But it is cooked and it is yummy!
Hot Water Pie Crust
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of butter (it originally called for lard)
1/4 cup of boiling water
1 1/2 cups of cake flour (I used all-purpose)
1/2 teaspoon any baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Tools:
Electric mixer
Place butter in a bowl. Pour boiling water over it. Beat these ingredients until they are cold and creamy. If there is time, chill them. Sift flour. Re-sift with baking powder and salt. Combine liquid and sifted ingredients and stir them until they form a smooth ball. Cover t he dough and chill it until it is firm. Roll when ready to use.
My Notes:
I replaced the lard with butter and it worked just fine. At first I tried to combine my water and butter with a fork but that did not work at all. Just bust out the mixer and it works beautifully. I also mixed in the dry ingredients with the mixer. You get to see that pea state that most dough recipes talk about that I have a hell of a time with. The recipe claims to make 1 two crust pie, but I only got one crust out of it with a little excess. It's possible I didn't roll it enough. It turned out wonderfully either way. The dough was a bit salty, but it worked with the quiche. If I were going to use it for a fruit pie, I'd use unsalted butter.
---
It's a really easy recipe and it worked! I made pie dough! I avoid making pie dough like the plague! But it worked! *dances* So if you're like me and can't make pie dough, well, now you can. Now onto the quiche part. This one is a little different because it's uses ricotta, so you get a much softer texture. It's quite yummy, though I did modify it a bit for some extra flavor. ^_^
Spinach Ricotta Cheese Quiche
Ingredients:
1 8oz. container of Ricotta
3 beaten eggs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar
6 tbsp milk
1 box of chopped frozen spinach cooed and well drained
salt and pepper
pie crust
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Beat the eggs and blend in the ricotta cheese. Add the Parmesan, cheddar, milk and spinach. Mix well. Pour into crust.
Bake at 400 for 10 minutes, then turn down to 325 and continue to bake for 45 to 60 minutes.
My Notes:
Let the quiche sit and cool before serving it. It actually gets tastier after sitting in the fridge over night. The leftovers are yummier than the initial warm slice. I used this recipe as a guideline really. For one thing, I added the cheddar to the recipe because even with the Parmesan, the recipe seemed a bit bland. It needed more flavor and more salt. You could change the cheese, just make sure it's a salty, flavorful one. You could even up the Parmesan if you wanted. I used 12 oz. of Ricotta because we had a container that needed to be used. I also added a cup of shredded zucchini that I steamed in the microwave. It also needed to be used. My quiche is really dense with vegetables and very filling. Feel free to experiment with the quiche recipe. After all, recipes are just asking to be fiddled with.
---
And here's pictures of my quiche.
Here it is ready to pop into the oven.
And here it is fresh from the oven. The flash on this camera completely bleached the color out of the crust. =/ But it is cooked and it is yummy!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-05-10 12:57 am (UTC)..it. It's frustrating wanting to try recipes and lacking key equipment -- any kind of mixer for one. )=
no subject
Date: 2008-05-10 01:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-10 02:37 am (UTC)I loled at the recipe calling for lard. All the cookbooks my mom brought with her from America call for lard too. I don't think you can even find that in Australian stores!