Spinach, Chèvre, and Roasted Red Pepper Quiche

Quiche is a delicious, savory tart that can be made in any season, served warm or at room temperature. This one features French goat cheese, plus spinach and roasted bell peppers. You can roast the peppers days ahead of time, and store them in the refrigerator. The pastry dough can be made up to two days in advance, or frozen for longer storage.

The quiche has two components: 1) a pre-baked pastry shell, and 2) the filling. You can make the pastry dough up to two days ahead of time and hold it in the refrigerator until you're ready to make the quiche.

Pastry Shell: 

4.5 ounces all-purpose flour (preferably organic), plus extra for dusting

½ teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons (3 ounces) cold, unsalted butter

1.5 ounces chèvre (you can also use cream cheese) 

2 tablespoons ice water (maybe more)

1 lightly-beaten egg white for brushing over the baked shell (reserve the yolk for the filling) 

How to make the dough by hand. Mix the flour together with the salt. Cut in the chèvre and the butter until they’re the size of peas (a pastry cutter works well here). Add enough ice water, a tablespoon at a time, until the dough holds together. Gather into a disk, knead for a few seconds, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for an hour or overnight.    

How to make the dough using a food processor. In a food processor, place the two flours and the chèvre. Pulse about 10 or 15 times until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the butter and pulse until butter is the size of peas. Add water by the tablespoon and pulse another 5 times. It should start to form a ball. If it does not, add more water by the tablespoon. Turn the mixture out onto the countertop and shape into a disc. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least one hour or overnight.  

Roll out the dough and place it in the tart pan. Grease a 10-inch diameter tart pan that has a removable bottom. Roll the dough out into a circle that is larger than the pan, and press the dough into the pan, making sure the dough goes all the way up the sides. Trim off any overhanging dough, and press the scraps back into the bottom of the tart pan, patching any cracks or holes, or thin spots. At this point, you can refrigerate or even freeze the dough until you are ready to bake it (be sure to cover with plastic wrap). No need to defrost before baking. 

The scraps of dough are pressed into the pan to patch any cracks or holes, and to reinforce the corners.

Blind-bake the pastry shell. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. You must weigh the pastry down for the first 15 or 20 minutes of baking so it does not shrink and slip down the sides of the pan. Here is how you do it: Place a piece of parchment paper or greased foil on top of the pastry. Now fill the pan with pie weights, such as dried beans, dried rice, clean pennies, or actual pie weights that you can buy at the store. Be sure the weights go up against the sides as much as possible, because the dough tends to slip at the sides.  

I use dried beans as pie weights. They can be re-used indefinitely.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the parchment and weights, lower the heat to 375, and bake for another 10 to 20 minutes, until the pastry is golden. If it gets air bubbles and starts to swell, prick the air bubbles to release the steam. 

As soon as the tart shell comes out of the oven, brush with lightly beaten egg white to seal the crust and prevent it from getting soggy from the filling. If you have leftover egg white, add it to the filling.  

While the shell is baking, assemble the filling. 

Filling:

1 large red bell pepper 

1 tablespoon olive oil or butter

2 tablespoons minced onion or shallot 

1 garlic clove, minced

8 ounces chopped frozen spinach, defrosted completely and squeezed dry  

1 1/3 cup (315g) half-and-half or whole milk 

4 large eggs, plus the additional yolk and any leftover white from brushing the baked crust 

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon salt 

Scant 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

4 oz. chèvre, crumbled into pieces 

2 ounces grated cheese (such as Pecorino Romano, Asiago Vecchio, or Parmigiano-Reggiano)

Optional: 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chiffonaded and then chopped

To roast the pepper, put it on a gas grill turned to “high.” You can also broil it in the oven (close to the fire), or directly on the burner of the range top. Turn the pepper with tongs as it blackens. It is properly roasted when the whole thing is black on the outside (some unburnt spots are fine, the pepper should be mostly black). Cool it for about 20 minutes. Cut into quarters lengthwise. Remove the stem, core, ribs and seeds. Lay each piece flat. Scrape off the charred skin with a knife. (Rinsing the pepper is not recommended, it washes away the flavor.) Cut the pepper lengthwise into strips about ¼ inch thick, then crosswise into medium dice. Set aside. Roasted red pepper will keep in the refrigerator for about 4 days.

Upper left is a whole roasted red bell pepper. The pepper is cut lengthwise. The core, ribs and seeds are removed, and the sections are flattened so that the charred skin can be scraped off with a knife. It's okay if some of the char is left behind after the skin is scraped off--this contributes a nice, smoky flavor.

Make the rest of the filling. Sauté the onion in the olive oil just until translucent. Add the garlic and sauté another 30 seconds. Add the spinach and stir. Let any remaining liquid from the spinach evaporate. It is important to be sure the spinach is fairly dry, otherwise the quiche will be watery. Remove from the heat.  

Whisk together the milk and eggs. Whisk in the chèvre. Add the red pepper, onion mixture, spinach, black pepper, salt, nutmeg, grated cheese, and optional basil. Stir until mixed. 

Pour the mixture into the warm pastry shell (re-warm the shell in the oven if necessary). Bake at 350 degrees F until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes. Check after about 10 minutes, and cover the outer edge of the crust with foil or with a pie-edge protector if it is getting too brown. Serve warm or at room temperature. Keeps refrigerated for about 3 days. Can also be frozen.

Notes

·      I prefer to use frozen spinach because it is sturdy and doesn’t require washing before use.

·      You can use roasted red peppers in a jar, but I think the flavor of freshly-roasted is far better. If you decide to roast extra peppers while you’re at it, they can be stored in the refrigerator. They are delicious when marinated in olive oil with salt and fresh garlic. Use as a garnish on sandwiches, pasta, and in salads. They go especially well with olives.

·      Use a quality, authentic grating cheese from the refrigerator section, not the stuff in the green can.