Quinoa and Kale Quiche

Happy Saturday! I'm especially ecstatic because I woke up flu free (and for those of you with little ones, I'm sure you can appreciate that statement).

So, naturally I woke up at 6am (and by naturally, I mean that my 2 year old climbed into our bed and put his freezing cold toes on my back), and went downstairs to clean/disinfect the house, and get a head start on a nice Saturday morning breakfast.

Since my hubbs thoroughly enjoys quiche and I've never attempted it before, it would be quite fitting to use him as my test subject. Since we're vegetarian as of a few months ago, and my husband isn't fully on board just yet, it's a nice way to challenge myself with a (sometimes brutally) honest opinion of what he rates the vegetarian/vegan meal from the taste stand point of a meat eater.

I found a crustless quiche recipe from http://food52.com/recipes/14244-quinoa-and-kale-crustless-quiche which I then significantly tweaked.

Side note: brownie points for being gluten free so I can keep this recipe gem in my back pocket for when I am hosting Sunday brunch for guests with any dietary restrictions.

1 1/3 cup cooked quinoa (I cook a big batch and keep it in the fridge once or twice a week)

1 tbsp olive oil

Bunch of kale (washed, dried, stems removed, sliced into 1/2 inch strips) <Dirty dozen + opt for organic if possible

3/4 Walla walla onion (what to do with left over 1/4 onion? See here)

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1/3 cup Parmesan (fresh grated tastes better, I think)

3 oz. cream cheese (cubed very small)

6 eggs

Himalayan sea salt and cracked pepper (regular salt or sea salt works too, but it is believed that Himalayan salt helps with nutrient absorption in the GI tract as well as adds a nice flavor).

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and prepare a 9" pie dish (spray with baking spray or olive oil). If you have not made the quinoa in advance: Rinse the quinoa. Combine the quinoa and water in a pan. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat and then reduce to a simmer. This will take about twenty minutes. Set aside.

2. Meanwhile, start to caramelize the onions. Heat the olive oil in a large saute on medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the onions. Slowly cook until the onions are soft and browned.

3. Remove the onions from the pan, and place them in a large mixing bowl. Add the kale into the hot onion pan. On medium heat, cook until the kale is wilted and bright green, about two minutes.

 

4. Allow the greens to cool.

5. Add the kale, quinoa, garlic, and Parmesan cheese to the mixing bowl. Stir the ingredients so that they are evenly distributed.

6. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and cubed cream cheese so that they are pretty well combined (cream cheese can still be quite lumpy but broken into smaller bits). Pour over the quinoa/kale mixture. Stir until the egg clings to the greens. Add salt and pepper.

7. Pour the mixture in the prepared pie dish. Bake for about 45 minutes, until the top is golden and the pie has started to pull away from the edge of the baking dish. This dish is delightful hot, but even better at room temperature.

My husband, who'd prefer a greasy pork green chile smothered bacon and egg burrito (can't really blame him, I'll go over my pork green chile recipe another day) rated it as follows: "Like a 7 or 8. I mean, if you made it again, I'd eat the crap out of it. I think I'd probably like a Mexican style quiche better you know, with tomatoes, and jalaps [and chorizo]" Okay, he didn't say the last part, but I KNOW that's what he was thinking.

My two-year-old devoured his over sized piece! I'd say that counts as a success.

Another little mixer-upper I'll try out in the near future will involve subbing the Parmesan cheese for Feta, and the Kale for Spinach…maybe throw in some halved grape or cherry tomatoes! Side note: I wouldn't precook the spinach or tomatoes, just mix in with whisked eggs.

Please let me know if you've tried it and what you think!