Spinach Quiche Redone

Progress: forward or onward movement toward a destination.

It’s cool to watch progress in progress happen. To see how far you’ve come. To see that change really does happen. To see how bad you once were.

A couple weeks ago, I made spinach quiche. I looked up my post from two years back. Read it. Looked at the pictures and thought, wow, progress. It’s cool to watch progress. But it’s also a good reminder of how far you have left to go.

Problem—I’m a bit of a perfectionist. So, after seeing that post, I had to re-do it. Maybe to prove to myself that progress really has happened. Or maybe because I’m just a perfectionist.

Spinach Quiche
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen via Bon Appetit

CRUST 
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
2 to 4 tbsp. ice water

1. Preheat the oven to 425°.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter into flour mixture. Combine with a pastry blender or fork until the mixture resembles coarse meal. (You can use a food processor for this step, however, cutting the butter in by hand lends for a flakier crust.)
3. Add cold water 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing with pastry fork until dough holds together without feeling wet or sticky.
4. Gather dough into ball. Flatten into disc, and cover with plastic wrap. Transfer to refrigerator, and chill at least 1 hour or freeze for 15 minutes. (Dough can be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.)
5. Roll out dough to fit the size of a round, removable bottom, tart pan. Add flour to surface to keep dough from sticking. Work quickly as the dough will get warm, making it harder to handle. Flash freeze (place in freezer for 5 min) if it gets too warm. Press the dough into the tart pan.
6. Roll the extra dough off with a rolling pin. Fix any holes in your dough. (I use a little water and extra dough to help mend the holes.)
7. Add pie weights or beans to crust and bake for 10-15 minutes. (You can skip this step and bake the crust and filling at once. I prefer to bake my tart shell first. That way I can ensure my crust will be cooked all the way through.)

FILLING
3 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 c. half and half
3 large eggs
10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1/2 c. grated cheddar
1/4 c. grated parmesan
1/2 large sweet onion, finely diced
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. olive oil

1. Saute diced onion in olive oil with a dash of salt until translucent.
2. Meanwhile, beat cream cheese in medium bowl until smooth.
3. Gradually beat in eggs and half and half.
4. Mix in remaining ingredients.
5. Pour egg mixture into prepared crust.
6. Bake until filling is set, 20–25 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before serving.

TIPS
• Need to make this ahead of time? I recommend making and baking the crust the night before. You can also dice and saute the onions, as well as thaw and drain the spinach. Morning of, whip the filling together. I wouldn’t recommend doing this the night before.
• Spinach still wet? I use paper towels to squeeze out the extra moisture.
• Wondering whether to buy a dark or light colored tart pan? I’ve used both, but I prefer a light tart pan. The darker pans tend to cook faster, leaving you with a more than golden crust.
• When working with dough, keep it cold.  Number 1, it’s much easier to work with cold dough. Number 2, if you work with warm dough, the butter begins to spread throughout, decreasing flakiness. Keep those pockets of butter intact!