Spinach and Goat Cheese Upside Down Quiche

Topped with a flaky whole wheat olive oil crust, this is quiche that looks like pie. Goat cheese and spinach sautéed with onion and fresh herbs amid a rich custard, you could call it savory spinach flan. With pastry on top of the filling, let’s call it spinach and goat cheese upside down quiche!

Custards are easy to make and greens and eggs go well together, so quiche is a good call when you have both on hand. Instead of baking your quiche inside a pie crust, pour the filling into a pie pan and casually arrange wedges of pastry on top!

Real men don’t eat quiche. Yeah, right. Where did that come from? Men, women, grownups, children, and in-be-tweens love this quiche that looks like a pie. Serve it for brunch. Or a light afternoon lunch. For dinner last night I ate 2 wedges cold!

All you do is sauté onions and garlic, adding whatever chopped herbs you have, and wilt in the spinach. Rub a bit of oil in the bottom of a pan and spread the seasoned spinach around. Next sprinkle on some sort of cheese, in this case goat cheese. Finally whisk eggs and milk or cream, and pour over the spinach and cheese. Pastry on top of the whole assemblage turns it upside-down!

When you cook a mixture of greens, cheese and custard stove top in a skillet, it’s a frittata. If the savory combo is baked in a pastry shell, you’ve got quiche. When the crust goes on top, in my book, it’s upside down quiche.

About the milk or cream. There are enough eggs and cheese in this recipe to set the custard. For the milk, you can use non-dairy milk, like almond, soy, cashew milks, or whole milk, low-fat milk, or half and half cream.

This wholesome whole wheat olive oil dough comes together in 5 minutes and you can roll it out immediately. Besides the ease of making this pastry, the beauty is you don’t have to worry about rolling it perfectly or getting into the pan with grace. You just roll out the dough, cut it into wedges and arrange almost haphazardly on top. The custard seeps through in the baking, molding everything together.

This recipe is adapted from Deborah Madison’s Spinach and Goat Cheese Pie in The Greens Cookbook. (Affiliate link)

You might also want to try this spinach custard with feta cheese, almond milk and fresh herbs.

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Print Recipe

4.67 from 3 votes

Spinach and Goat Cheese Upside Down Quiche

This filling is a basic vegetable custard recipe. Feel free to substitute any greens, such as chard or kale, and your choice of herbs. The crust is a winner with rustic olive oil and whole wheat flavors, and just enough saltiness to keep you wanting another bite, and another. Makes one 10-inch quiche.

Prep Time45 mins

Cook Time40 mins

Total Time1 hr 25 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: goat cheese, spinach

Servings: 8 servings.

Author: Letty | @lettyskitchen

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion , chopped, about ¾ cup
• 1 garlic clove , minced or ¾ cup chopped garlic scapes (see note)
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley leaves
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 8 ounces spinach , stems removed, and leaves torn into 2-inch pieces
• 1/8 teaspoon plus ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 5 ounces goat cheese
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups milk or cream (see note)
• Pinch cayenne pepper

Crust:

• 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour (6 ounces)
• ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons cold water

Instructions

Make the whole wheat crust:

• Stir the flour and salt together in a bowl.
• In another bowl, whisk the oil and water until it is thick and creamy. Pour over the flour, all at once. Mix with your fingers until blended, and then form into a flattened ball. Cover and set aside while you make the filling.

Make the filling:

• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onions and garlic, or garlic scapes, if using, and cook a few minutes, until the onion is translucent. If you are using fresh garlic, let the onion cook several minutes before stirring in the garlic. Stir in the chopped herbs. (see note)
• Add as much of the spinach as the skillet will hold, stir a minute until it wilts and then add the rest, stirring until all the spinach has wilted. Season with the 1/8 teaspoon of salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly oil a 10-inch quiche mold.
• Distribute the spinach mixture over the bottom of the mold. Sprinkle with about half the cheese.
• Whisk the eggs in a bowl. Whisk in the other half of the cheese. Stir in the milk and the remaining ¼ teaspoon of salt and the cayenne.
• Pour over the spinach and cheese.
• Roll the whole wheat dough between 2 sheets of parchment or waxed paper to about 1/8-inch thick. Gently remove the top paper. Cut into rough wedges. Arrange on top of custard.
• Bake 35 to 45 minutes, until the custard is set and beginning to show brown color on top.
• Let the custard rest 5 minutes. Serve warm. This quiche is also delicious at room temperature or cold.

Notes

• If it is early season, and they are available, use garlic scapes.
• Use fresh herbs of your choice--from your garden, or herbs you find in your CSA box or at the Farmer’s Market.
• You can use dairy milk or dairy-free milk. Half and half cream or heavy cream will make this upside-down quiche seriously rich. 

Nutrition

Calories: 328kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 96mg | Sodium: 400mg | Potassium: 375mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 3060IU | Vitamin C: 9.1mg | Calcium: 145mg | Iron: 2.4mg

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