Spinach Quiche

Last time when we went to buy veggies and groceries, I had 2 beautiful and bursting dark green broccoli bunches in my hands. Then came my hubby and said: remember your son is tired of broccoli, can we change? I almost cried! haha! So well I moved on from greens for this week, and got some nice spinach leaves! (sadly frozen because can't find them fresh in this time of the year).

Some days later, I came up with the idea of using the last frozen pieces from a huge pumpkin I got last autumn, so I decided to combine them with the spinach and then the lightbulb turned on! It was an "Aha!" moment. So I came up with this delicious, easy and relatively quick to make Quiche recipe that I'm sharing with you now.

As always, feel free to make your own changes, I always come up with ideas of mixing veggies. Dare to mix your own! and enjoy!!!

Ingredients:

For the pastry:

• 200 gr / 2 cups All purpose wheat flour
• 100 gr / 1/2 cup Cold Butter or Margarine
• 1 egg
• 20 ml / 2 Tbsp water
• Pinch of salt

For the filling:

• 200 gr / 8 oz Pumpkin (diced and previously cooked in boiling water for around 10 minutes)
• 200 gr / 8 oz Spinach leaves (frozen or fresh)
• 3 eggs
• 1 leek diced
• 1 cup sweet corn
• 1 cup diced red paprika
• 1 Tbsp ginger powder
• 2 Tbsp herbs of the season (try italian or mediterranean mix: parsley, basil, majoram, rosemary)
• Salt, pepper, garlic for seasoning
• 1/2 cup of cheese for Gratin

Preparation:

Pre-heat your oven at 200 °C /392 °F. Start with the pastry.

In a bowl, add the salt to the flour and mix well. Then add the cold butter or margarine and with a knife or a pastry spatula divide or cut the butter in smaller pieces at the same time as mixing with the flour. When the butter or margarine is distributed in smaller pieces add the egg and continue mixing while "cutting" with your spatula.

Then begin to knead with your hands until forming a soft dough. Transfer the dough to your working table previously spreading some more flour in the surface to avoid sticking too much. Continue kneading until you get a soft textured dough. Cut 1/4 or a bit less of the dough and reserve.

With your rolling pin to make the big ball flat until you get a thin layer big enough to cover your baking plate (better if you have a pie form, but a normal cake or lasagna plate can also work). Try to keep the layer thin, no more than 5 mm (3/16").

Cover your plate, making sure you're covering all the sides as well. Don't leave open spaces or bubbles. Trim the excess off the borders and reserve. Pinch with a fork evenly through all the surface of your covered baking plate.

Bake for around 15-20 minutes (check until the borders begin to get a darker yellow color, do not over-do because it can get burnt in the second baking period).

While the pastry is the oven, mix your previously cooked pumpkin, the spinach, eggs, leek, ginger and seasoning. Use your mixer, food processor, or stab-mixer. Once you get an homogeneous mix, add the corn and the diced paprika and mix with a spoon or spatula.

When the pastry is baked, fill with the mix you just made and decorate with the cheese for Gratin and thin stripes made with the reserved pastry dough.

Bake for around 25-30 minutes (time varies in every oven) at 200°C/392 °F, until the borders and the pastry stripes begin to get that yummy golden color.

When done, move out of the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes. Cut, serve and enjoy!

PS: my hubby and my sun are not close friends of spinach. This time they loved it!