Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon sea salt flakes
- 150 grams butter, chopped, at room temperature
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons milk
Filling
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 100 grams pumpkin, diced into 2cm cubes
- 2 cups spinach leaves
- 100 grams feta, crumbled
- 50 grams roasted capsicum
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, finely grated
- 3 eggs
- ⅓ cup cream
- ¼ cup milk
- sea salt and cracked pepper
Instructions
- Add the flour, salt and butter to a food processor and process until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add the egg and milk and process until a smooth dough is formed.
- Cover the dough with clingfilm and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll the dough out between two sheets of baking paper, to a thickness of about 4 mm. Lightly grease a 22 cm tart dish and line with the pastry. Prick the base with a fork and refrigerate for another 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Cover the pastry with a sheet of baking paper and fill with baking weights. Bake for 15 minutes, remove the paper and weights and bake for a further 15 minutes, or until the pastry is golden.
Filling Preparation
- Keep the oven on at 200 °C. Spread the pumpkin across a tray covered in baking paper. Drizzle over 1 tablespoon of olive oil and dust with some salt and cracked pepper. Roast for 30 minutes in the oven.
- Heat a fry pan over medium-high heat and add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Add the spinach leaves and saute for 1 minute, until the spinach has just wilted.
- Add the eggs, cream, milk to a bowl. Whisk to combine.
Assembling the Quiche
- Reduce the oven temperature to 180 °C.
- To the prepared pastry base, spread the pumpkin across the base, then scatter over the spinach, roasted capsicum and the crumbled feta.
- Pour the egg mixture over the top, ensuring you fill in all the gaps. Sprinkle over the finely grated parmesan cheese and some sea salt and cracked pepper.
- Bake for approximately 30 minutes, until golden and the egg mixture is set. Rest for 15 minutes before serving.
This pumpkin, spinach and feta quiche is one of those recipes that always leaves an impression whenever it’s made. It uses a classic combination of roast pumpkin, spinach and capsicum, and then its topped with a delectable crumbling of feta over the top to make a quiche that is simply irresistible. Serve it warm or let it cool and serve in the lunch box. It also goes amazing as part of a picnic spread.
The Pastry Base
Making the dough for the base is a breeze in a food processor. If you don’t have a food processor, you can mix this by hand. It will take a bit longer but you will still end up with the same result. If the dough is still sticky, you may need to add in a small amount of additional flour. You are looking for a dough that is not too dry but is not sticky either, think playdough type consistency.
With the prepared dough, roll it out between 2 sheets of baking paper to a 4 mm thickness. Transfer it to your prepared pastry dish and then use a fork to prick the base all over, this will prevent uneven rising.
Once the dough is prepared, the most important part, which is what everyone usually skips, is the dough refrigeration. Refrigerating the dough will stop it from shrinking as much when baking. You can either trim the edge of the dough around the pie dish at this point, or you can wait until the base has been baked.
The pastry is baked before adding the filling. Take the rolled pastry casing and cover it with a piece of baking paper. Fill the casing with pie weights and bake at 200 °C for 15 minutes. Remove the pie weights and then bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, until lightly browned.
Note: If you don’t have pie weights you can use rice instead. Pie weights are not expensive and are great because they can be reused.
Set aside the cooked pastry casing while you prepare the filling ingredients. The dough makes enough to make 1 large dish or approximately 5 smaller individual quiche casings.
Preparing the Filling ingredients.
Take the pumpkin, peel it and then dice it into small cubes. Place on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Roast the pumpkin for about 30 minutes at 200 °C.
While the pumpkin cooks, char grill your capsicum (refer to our Pizza Pull Apart for further instructions on this). Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and then sauté the spinach for 1 minute.
Building the Spinach and Feta Quiche
Take your pastry casing and add your prepared filling ingredients. Start by spreading the pumpkin over the base. Next, spread across the spinach and slices of roasted capsicum. Lastly, crumble the feta over the top and then season with some salt and pepper.
Tip: Keep large chunks of feta for incredible bursts of flavor throughout the quiche.
Add the cream, eggs and milk to a bowl and whisk to thoroughly combine everything together. Pour the egg mixture across the top of the quiche. Finish the preparations by grating some fresh parmesan cheese over the top.
Bake the prepared quiche in a moderate oven for approximately 30 minutes. The quiche will be cooked when it is set through the middle and it has a lovely golden brown colour on the top.
Serving the Spinach and Feta Quiche
Remove the quiche from the oven and rest for 15 minutes to allow the egg filling to set completely. Slice and serve warm with optional side salad, chips or own its own. The quiche is great eaten warm or cold, making it a great picnic food or lunchbox meal.
