EcrosTechWiki | Recipes / Crustless Quiche

Adapted from a recipe submitted by Keeferop to Food.com in July, 2008. The original was pretty basic, just onion, chard, cheese and eggs, so maybe "inspired by" would be more accurate. The main inspiration is that you don't really need that pesky crust.

1 bunch	.....	Swiss chard (or other robust leafy green)
1 tablespoon	.....	olive oil (or any neutral cooking oil)
½ cup	.....	onion (yellow, red, white or other), finely chopped
1 clove	.....	garlic (or 4 garlic scapes), chopped
(optional) 6 oz	.....	mushrooms (button, cremini, shiitake or other)
(optional) 1	.....	andouille sausage (or similar), coarsely diced
1 cup (or more!)	.....	fresh basil, roughly chopped
4	.....	large eggs (or 5 medium, etc.)
¾ cup	.....	skim milk (or oat beverage)
3 cups	.....	cheese (cheddar or other) grated or shredded
to taste	.....	salt and pepper

Rinse the greens. Grab them by the stems and flick as much water off as possible. Cut about an inch off the stems and discard. Fold each leaf in half and make a cut to separate most of the stem, in particular the thicker part. Stack the stems together and chop however you see fit. Set aside. Remove any rinse water from the leaves using a salad spinner or pat them dry between towels. Chop them roughly into pieces about an inch square. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Heat the oil in a medium pan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook for five minutes. Add the chopped stems from the greens and cook until tender and the onion is starting to brown. Add the garlic, cook for one minute more, then add the chopped leaves of the greens and reduce the heat to low. Cook, turning the greens over every few minutes, until they are fully wilted and the volume of the mixture does not reduce any more. Turn off the heat. Add the chopped basil and salt and pepper to taste. Stir and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the milk and stir perfunctorily. Add the cheese and stir more enthusiastically. Fold in the onion, greens, garlic, etc. mixture. Pour into a deep, nine-and-a-half inch, glass pie dish that has been lightly coated with cooking oil. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and sticking a knife into the quiche does not release liquid.

Mushrooms add an additional flavor note and an interesting texture to the quiche. You can slice up shiitake mushrooms and toss them in with the onions. If you get supermarket mushrooms (button, cremini, etc.), dice them and begin by driving off the water by sauteing them in butter until they begin to brown. Then toss them in with the garlic.

Another good flavor / texture addition is some kind of cooked, smoked sausage, such as andouille. Since it is already cooked, just dice it and throw it in with the garlic.

The original recipe (see above) specified Swiss chard as an alternative to spinach. If you use spinach, you won't need to separate the stems as they are more tender. We have also used beet greens with great success (treating them in the same way as Swiss chard). When farmers' markets get going in the spring, these greens look as yummy as the beets themselves.