Spinach and Artichoke Quiche
I love quiche. It is a perfect dish for any time of the day. It is also so versatile. You can really get creative with the ingredients you put in your quiche. As an added bonus- quiche freezes well. I can make a couple, and freeze one for a day when I am too busy to cook. Leftover quiche is a favorite breakfast of mine. too.
I had planned to make a quiche with artichoke hearts. Seemed like a nice, Spring kind of dish. When I was starting to put the quiche together, it occurred to me that I also had a bag of spinach.
Made sense to put the two together. Sort of like spinach and artichoke dip. Why didn’t I think about this sooner? The combo made for a wonderful quiche.
I used about a pound of fresh spinach, cooked, drained and chopped, but a box of frozen spinach would work, too.
Here is the recipe.
Spinach and Artichoke Quiche
1 unbaked pie crust – enough for a deep dish pie
4 oz. diced cheddar cheese – I like a sharp cheddar, but I could see using Swiss in this recipe, too.
2 T. flour
1 lb. fresh spinach or 1 (10 oz.) package frozen spinach, cooked, chopped and squeezed dry
3-4 artichoke hearts, drained and chopped coarsely (about 1/2 of a 14 oz. can)
1 c. milk or half and half
3 eggs, beaten
2 T. fresh chopped parsley
Hot pepper sauce to taste
salt and pepper to taste
In 9-inch (deep dish) pie pan place the crust. Toss cheese with the flour and place in crust. Add the spinach and artichoke hearts. Combine milk with the eggs and add seasonings to taste. Pour over the spinach mixture. Place pan on a baking sheet to collect any drips and place in a preheated 400 degree oven. Bake for 30 minutes then turn down oven to 325 and continue baking until quiche is firm near the middle, about 25-30 minutes more. To test for “doneness” insert a butter knife about an inch from the center of the quiche. If it comes out clean, the quiche is done. Serves 4-6.
Artichoke Dip
This dip is fast and easy to make. The kids mad it in camp and ate is up quickly. I love recipes that are simple and still taste good. we did the original recipe, but you can add spinach for a spinach artichoke dip.
Artichoke Dip
1 (12-14 oz.) can artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped
8 oz. cream cheese, cubed
4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
½ c. diced onion
¼ c. Italian dressing
Dash of hot sauce
Combine all ingredients in microwave safe dish and heat on high for 4-5 minutes. Stir and return to microwave, heating 2-4 minutes more. Serve with breads or crackers. You can also add a 10 oz. box of frozen spinach, thawed and drained well to make a spinach-artichoke dip.
Tortellini Artichoke Salad
Tortellini and Artichoke Salad
With warmer weather I wanted a dish that could be a side salad or a main dish and require little cooking. I came up with this tortellini and artichoke salad. I had some frozen cheese tortellini that only required 5 minutes of gentle simmering. I also had some garlic scapes and a large scallion I got at Blue Pike Farm the other day. Zest and juice from fresh limes added some extra zip.
Tortellini Artichoke Salad
1 lb. cheese tortellini, cooked and cooled
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/2 c. oil
1/2 c. chopped garlic scapes*
1/2 c. chopped green onion
zest of 1 lime
juice of 2 limes
1/4 c. chopped cilantro
hot sauce to taste – I used about 2 teaspoons
salt and pepper to taste
Combine tortellini and artichoke hearts and set aside. Heat oil in skillet and cook scapes and green onion until crispy- about 5 minutes. Pour skillet contents into tortellini mixture, including the oil. Add remaining ingredients. Adjust seasonings,. Chill at least a couple of hours. Serves 8 as a side dish, 4 as a main dish.
*garlic scapes are the stems of garlic plants that are cut off the garlic plants to produce bigger cloves. They taste like garlic and look like curly green onions. If you don’t have garlic scapes add extra green onion and some fresh minced garlic to the dish.
Garlic scapes and a scallion
