Vegan Spinach Quiche

Recipe seven:

Quiche aux Epinards - Vegan Spinach Quiche 

From top left: Baby spinach leaves, crust, whipped silken tofu, nutmeg, shallot, vegan butter, vegan cheese.

Since we made the pate brisee recipe from making the Quiche Lorraine we two balls of dough to work with. We wanted to perfect the quiche, also these are the only ingredients we had in the fridge at the time. I'm glad we went with this recipe, the flavor of the sautéed shallots in the butter with spinach turned out far better than expected.

1 Ball Pastry Dough (recipe here)
1 1/2 Cups Spinach
1 Package Silken tofu
1 1/2 cups Vegan Cheese
3 tbsp Tapioca Flour (not in the picture, sorry)
2 Tbs Shallots minced
2 tbs Vegan butter
1 tsp Nutmeg



For the crust:

1. Pre heat the oven to 375°, take some flower spread it out on your cutting board and some on your rolling pin so the dough wont stick to while you are rolling it out

2. Using the dough from the Pate Brisee recipe, roll out the ball by pushing the center of the dough down with the rolling pin, and slowly push out from the center until you have rolled the dough out to a 1/8 thin circle (enough to cover the tin or dish you are using).

3. Once you have rolled out the dough, spread a little flour on the top surface so the rolling pin will not stick, then place the rolling pin on the outer edge of the dough and gently roll it onto the rolling pin.

4.  Unroll the dough onto the tin until the the dough completely covers it. Then get a kitchen knife and trim the excess dough from the edge of the tin (or pan) and make adjustments to the dough by getting a small piece of left over dough and rolling it into a small ball. Push the dough into the top edge of the pan (this will give nice beveled effect). If there are any tears or holes in the dough its not a big deal, just use some of the left over dough to repair them, no one is going to see the inside of your crust so if it looks like Frankenstein dont have a heart attack.  

5. Using a fork poke holes in the bottom of the crust, then fill the entire crust with uncooked beans (we use pink beans, they are extremely affordable) this will stop the crust from rising during the baking process.

6. Place the beans and dough in the oven and bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until the dough is slightly browned on the top edges, which now makes it a crust. Take it out of the oven and let it cool, dont try to remove the beans until its cooled... trust me. 

7. While the crust is cooling fill a pot with water and add a pinch of salt. Bring water to a boil. While your waiting for the water to boil, rinse and rough chop the spinach then small dice your shallots.

8.  Get a large bowl and fill it with ice and water and set it aside.

9.  When the water has reached a rolling boil, bring it down to a simmer. Then get your spinach and place it in a hand held colander or strainer and put in water for about a minute. Quickly remove it and place the spinach in the ice water bath you made earlier, this will stop the cooking process. Once the spinach is cool remove it from the water and let the water drain out.

10.  In a medium sauté pan, melt the butter under medium heat. Once the butter is melted put in the shallots and cook until translucent before adding the spinach. Cook for another5 minutes then add the nutmeg and cook until the remaining water in the spinach has evaporated and has absorbed the butter. Remove from heat. 

11. Put the silken tofu in a food processer and process until creamy and without lumps. Once the tofu is processed, put it in a mixer with a whisk attachment and add the tapioca flour, then whip for about 3 minutes. Its important to get as much air as possible into the tofu - it helps it rise while baking.

12. At this point you should pre-heat the oven to 375°. When you are finished whipping the tofu, gently fold in the cheese, spinach and shallot mixture. Pour the mixture into the crust and level it out using a rubber spatula.  

13. Sprinkle some vegan cheese on top and dot with some vegan butter, dotting the butter on top will help with the browning process. 

14. Put it in the oven and bake at 375° for 30 - 35 minutes or until the top is golden brown, but not too dark. 

15. Remove from the oven and let it cool slightly so you can remove it from the tin or pie plate. 

Voila, you now have Vegan Spinach Quiche, it is so light, fluffy and hearty that youre family wont even notice that there is no cream or eggs in this dish. Bon Appetite!