Kale and Swiss Quiche - Nutty Goodness

We make a quiche every Sunday afternoon to keep in the Fridge for kiddie dinners and lunches for work.  It's a great way to use the veg in your fridge at the end of the week.  We had some Kale leftover in the fridge from making Kale Chips for the kids so we used it instead of Spinach this time.  The combo added a lovely nuttiness and fullness that Spinach doesn't give.

Kale and Swiss Quiche

Follow the basic Quiche technique described here except for the veg changes I will explain

Spinach Quiche recipe

1 Yellow Bell Pepper diced into 1 cm pieces
1 1/2 c Kale, finely chopped instead of the Spinach
plus 1 pint of Cremini or Button Mushrooms, by pint I mean those small boxes they come in market.  I bought pre sliced cuz that just how I roll when I'm lazy.

Saute all the veg in a large non stick skillet to give room, on medium high heat until throughly soft and 'dry' looking.  i.e. no liquid in the pan.

Spread in the pre baked shell and follow the recipe above as regular.

Very very good.  It was a bit more gooey that the spinach which was weird because we cooked the kale through.  But it tasted awesome.

Enjoy!

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Spinach and Red Pepper Deep Quiche

Spinach and Red Pepper Quiche 

What's in the fridge?  A Quiche is a relatively easy way to use 'whatever's in the fridge'.  I bought a Red Bell Pepper last week to make a stir fry and never got around to it and in the mean time, used the other ingredients to make supper for the kids.  I did have frozen Spinach.  I always have frozen Spinach in the freezer.  I was obsessed for a while on Curried Spinach so since then I always keep a pack in the freezer.  Do it.

I prefer to use frozen crusts because I'm not a masochist.  I have made the crusts in the past and for pies, I do prefer to make them.  But for a mid week dinner, why torture myself.  The place my food processor used to occupy on my counter is currently taken up by a baby bottle rack. So there.

I buy the deep dish kind because I like to have more filling to crust and as well, I was always making generous fillings and I'd regularly have overflow situations in the oven.

Red Pepper and Spinach Quiche

1 Deep Dish Pie Crust

1 small-medium Bell Pepper, diced (approx 1-1.5 cups)
1 small Red or Yellow Onion, diced (approx 1 cup)
1 clove Garlic
1 pkg Chopped Frozen Spinach (400g), defrosted
1 t dried Thyme
1 t dried Herbes de Provence
1 t dried Oregano
1 T Flour
Salt and Pepper

2 c Swiss Cheese, shredded (approx 200g) or Feta but I had Swiss

4 large Eggs
1/2 cup Heavy Cream (oh yeah!) + 2 T
1 T Flour
1/2 t Salt

My instructions are in order of how I proceed to save sitting oven time and optimism execution. :D

Take out Spinach from freezer and place package on a plate on counter for several hours or on in the freezer the night before.

Take out the crust as you begin for the bake, and leave on counter.

Shred the Cheese.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Sauté the Onions and Bell Pepper with the Herbs for 10 minutes until slightly caramelized.  Add the Garlic for the last minute.  Spread thin around pan too cool.

Drain spinach in a sieve or cheese cloth and wring out.  Set aside.

Place a piece of parchment paper or foil in the crust and pour in pie weights aka dried beans and spread in crust.  OR you can poke with a fork to prevent bubbles.  IF you dock aka poke, instead of pie weights, bake at 350 not 375 F.  For 15 minutes.  Take out and cook on rack.  I like to place the crust on a pie pan to keep if flat on insert and removal because they tend to fold a bit and then crack otherwise.

Sprinkle 1 T of flour over the cooling Vegetables in the pan and toss until thinly coated.

In a large measuring cup, at least a 2 cupper, for easy pouring, crack the 4 eggs.  Add the Cream and Salt.  Beat until you've denatured the Egg whites. i.e. when you lift the whisk out of the cup, the Eggs are loose and less gloopy.  Add the flour and Whisk to combine.  Yes, you don't need it and most don't need it.  But I added it to a Quiche over a decade ago and never had a loose omletey centre to my Quiches since.  Helps it set.

Adjust the stove to 350.  Cut strips of foil about a inch wide.  Cover the edge of the crust with the strips by crimping over the edge of the shell.  You don't have to do this but I don't like to burn the crust or make to brittle.  The Quiche is in the oven for a long time so it turns out nice and golden this way.

Spread a layer of Cheese on the bottom of the Crust.  Spread out the Bell Pepper and Onion mixture.  Sprinkle a thin layer of Cheese.  Spread the Spinach over top.  Press down.  Cover with the rest of the cheese.

Move the Crust, still on the sheet pan, over to the oven.  Pour the Egg/Cream mixture over top and jiggle to make sure it gets in all the crevices.

Bake in the middle for 45 minutes.

Let cool for 10 minutes or longer.

MMMMM

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Saturday, December 25th - Korean Christmas with the Folks

Mini KimcheeQuiche

Last Saturday was Christmas with D's family.  This Saturday was with mine.  There were many points of distinction and commonality.  Thankfully, moreso this year than recent years.  Mom ceded to not making a Turkey this year. 

In Canada, Turkey is quite often the Christmas meal of choice more so than Roast or Ham.  Mom picked up the habit from our cousins who used to eat alot more 'western' food growing up than we did.  It naturally appealled to her since she has a propensity for drama and presentation.  It used to make sense when we would have an extended family meal but she continued to grow the size of her bird order despite the shrinking attendance at our table.  So for the past few years we had had an immediate family meal on Christmas with a boyfriend or two at the table and then have a bigger meal at the cousins.  That said, despite the five of us plus a couple of guests, less the couple of vegetarians, mom did not let that deter her from buying a 20 pound bird.  I know at my age I should let things go but I really can't when it comes to food waste.  You see there are two things you should know about mom, she does not like to serve leftovers and she doesn't really like Turkey in large quantities.  It works okay for Korean food because she'll often eat our dinner leftover for lunch the next day but not Turkey and she'll have already cooked something else before someone can get to the Turkey and the bread to eke out a sandwich.  20lbs should feed like three times the number of people at our table.  It drives me to complete madness.  We argue alot over it, I am not embarassed to say.  She thinks a smaller turkey looks less 'special', like an everyday roast chicken.  Grrrrrrr!

Vegetarian Japchae

Without my intervention this year, she decided with all the partners in Toronto this year, that she would do a Korean meal with the cousins over to ours.  Hallelujiah!  It did not mean that the volume of edibles was less in the end but the Turkey fiasco was sidestepped and the leftovers would be eaten or taken by our guests. 

Salmon Sprout Rolls and Avocado

Mom had planned a few appetisers and I added one that I thought up in a moment of Korean creativity.  You know, though, despite the years of living here, mom hasn't quite grasped the idea of courses.  If you have gone to a proper Korean restaurant where they serve you like 2 dozen banchan with your main, you'll know that they go for the overflowing abundant single table rather than cleared cycles.  So D was confused when mom's appetisers didn't make the rounds in the living room with mine.  Of course mom was equally confused why we handed her Salmon and Sprout Rolls, with Avocadoes on the side, before dinner.  We left her Tempura Prawns and Mini Korean Seafood Pancakes for the table though since well, mom cooked those last (even though they were starters :^P). She reluctantly bought the tempura at the Korean market because she wanted to be somewhat sensible.  Though she kettle cooked them over her gas hotpot stove because she doesn't believe deep fryers are effective and it was probably still a fair bit of work.

Mini Korean Seafood Pancake and Shrimp Tempura

My fusion add to the appetisers:

Mini Kimchee Quiche - cooked

Mini Kimchee Quiche

24 mini Tart Shells, defrosted

4 Eggs
1/2 c Milk
1/2 c Cream or Half and Half  (or all Milk)
1 1/2 T Flour
1/2-1 c Shredded Cheese (any Mild Melting Cheese)

1/2 c Kimchee, finely chopped (try to avoid the spines of the Cabbage)
2 T Korean Chives, finely chopped (or regular chives)

Preheat the oven to 425.  Place all the shells on a single baking sheet.  Dock the bottoms by poking the bottoms gently with a fork 3 or 4 times with a fork.  Place in the middle of the oven for 7 minutes.

Remove and let cool slightly on the baking sheet.  Reduce the oven to 330F.

In a large bowl or even better a huge measuring cup to facilitate pouring, beat the Eggs, Milk and Cream.  Slowly add the flour to avoid lumps.  Don't worry, they're unavoidable.  Just do your best. 

Place 1t of Kimchee on the bottom of each tart.  Add 1/2 t to 1 teaspoon of Cheese on top.  Fill the tarts with the Egg mixture.  Sprinkle the top with the Chives.

Bake in the Oven for 30-35 minutes.  Rotating the baking sheet halfway so the tarts in the front spend some time in the back of the oven.  Serve warm.  They were YUMMO!  I wouldn't make a full sized Quiche with this but it made an interesting appetiser.

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There were two 'Mains' though they were indistinguishable in volume from the 'sides'. Chap-jae (or Japchae, the "J" is somewhere between the J and Ch sound) and Slo Stewed Korean Short Ribs. Mom made the Chap-jae without meat though traditionally it contains bits of fried beef.  Chap-jae is Beanthread Vermicelli noodles fried in a slighly sweet sauce made from Soy, Brown Sugar and Sesame Oil.  The cooked noodles are fried in the sauce then tossed with the shredded vegetables, Mushrooms, Oyster Mushrooms, Bell Peppers, Steamed Spinach, Onions, and Carrots.  Yum! We eat it with rice which I've never questions but I guess could be odd. 

Kalbi Chim

If you're familiar with Kalbi, as most are, then you know the general flavours involved in the Slow Stewed Korean Short Ribs or Kalbi Chim.  Except, the Ribs are not sliced thin, length or crosswise.  They are stewed in the slightly looser marinade and lots of good Red Wine for 4 hours.  This was the traditional way before the 'recent' use of BBQ in the last century.  Mom cooked them with Carrots and Moo (Turnip).  It was a hit with the carnivores and it smelled heavenly. 

Mom really cannot seem to grasp the concept of portioning.  She made each individual dish as if it were the only dish. There was a Seafood Slaw Salad which she mixed in a bowl the size of an infants bath tub.  No joke.  It's one of those large steel bowls that you use to make 'smaller' batches of Kimchee, so 2 ft in diameter and 1 ft deep.   I was exasperated but at least there wasn't a car sized Turkey to argue over.  There was Shrimp, Squid and Krabstick mixed with Shredded Cabbage, Carrots and Green Onions in a Wasabi and Rice Wine Vinegar Dressing.  She cut the Wasabi with regular Mustard so as not to overwhelm.  It was 70% Seafood to 30% Vegetables and I thought she could have made it 30/70 the other way.  I would have left out the Squid as well.   It's not a typical Korean dish but it was quite nice and refreshing. 

Bechu Kimchee

There was Kimchees of course but that will be another post.  V, my sister, had her German boyfriend try Kimchee for the first time.  We made sure it wasn't a very spicy piece.

The rice.  Mom has been adding beans to our simple steamed rice for many years to add a bit of protein.  Nowadays at ours, you will never find plain white Rice unless she is making Sushi or Kimbap.  Steamed Rice will always have a bean, tonight it was shelled Kong (Edamame), a bit of Quinoa and Wild Rice.  And the Rice it self is Jasmine.  Jasmine has a lower Glycemic Index.  This concoction is everpresent on our table.  It's why I never feel quite satisfied with a meal without a starch.  I'm a bit better about it but it is hard.

For dessert was an array of Rice Cake (Dhuk) and Slice Melons and Korean Pears. 

We drank some Argento Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon.  Oh as well, V, my sister made some Mulled Wine.  Some folks prefer beer with Korean food so we had some Steam Whistle which Dad loves. 

A typical, diverse Canadian Christmas at ours.  Always an arguement or three but that's probably pretty typical as well.  Merry Christmas!