Chard Quiche

Arugula + flowers edible too

Butter Lettuce - a shareholder fave

Jacqueline's son takes a seat on her foot

Kohlrabi - cook the tops and eat the rest raw

Here's what Farmer John had for us at the Silver Lake pick-up this week:

Wild celery (great for soups and broth)
Turnips
Red and golden beets
Radishes
Kohlrabi
Fresh garlic
Arugula
Green chard
Russian kale
Butter lettuce
Red romaine
Chamomile
Oranges

Even though my garden is brimming with chard, it was delightful to see it in the CSA box again this week. Truth be told, I can't get enough of this delicious and nutritious vegetable.

Lately, I've been making chard quiches. Quiche is great at any meal - breakfast, lunch, or dinner; and you can eat it hot, room temperature, or cold. I like to make a couple of quiches at a time and freeze one for later. They re-heat nicely in the oven.

This recipe calls for chard, but you can substitute the Russian kale we got today, if you'd like. Or you can make one chard quiche and one kale quiche, or cook the chard and kale together and make two mixed chard and kale quiches. Whatever you decide, you can't go wrong with this tasty dish.

Chard Quiche

For the crust: Use the recipe below or your favorite pie crust recipe
1-1/2 C flour (I use white flour, but you can combine white and whole wheat)
1 t salt
1 stick very cold butter, cut into pieces
1-2 T very cold cream
ice water

1. Put the flour and salt in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse 1-2 times to distribute the salt.

2. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is only partially incorporated and resembles a coarse meal.

3. Working quickly with the processor running, add the cream and a little ice water through the feed tube. Continue adding a small amount of water and processing until the dough sticks together when pressed between your fingers. The trick here is to process the dough as little as possible and don't let it form a ball in the processor.

4. Turn the dough out onto a floured pastry cloth. Press it together to form a ball. This recipe makes enough dough for two (2) 9-inch standard pies, so if you're making one quiche, cut the dough in half before rolling. Store the other half in the refrigerator. It'll keep for about 5 days.

5. Roll each piece of dough into a 12+ inch circle. Line two 9-inch pie pans with the dough and crimp the edges as desired. If you're only making one pie, you can freeze the rolled dough in a pie pan for later use. If you'e not saving one for later, refrigerate the pie pans with the rolled dough while you make the filling.

For the filling: This recipe makes enough filling for one quiche. Double it if you're making two quiches.
1/2 medium red onion
1 bunch chard
2 t butter
2 to 2-1/2 cups grated Swiss cheese
1 C beaten eggs (about 4 large eggs)
1 C milk
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Slice the red onion very thinly and saute in 1 t butter until very slightly brown. Set aside and allow onions to cool.

3. Wash the chard well. Chop the green part of the chard and saute in the same pan with 1 t butter. Cover until wilted, then remove the cover and cook off any water. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool. You can compost the white stalks or save them for another use, such as adding them to vegetable soup.

4. When the chard and onions are cool, mix them together in a large bowl with the grated Swiss cheese. Stir well to combine. Taste this mixture and season with salt and pepper, if you'd like.

5. In a 3 or 4 cup liquid measuring cup, beat the eggs with a fork until well mixed. Pour in the milk to make 2 C of egg-milk mixture and continue mixing with a folk until the eggs and milk are well combined.

6. Remove one dough-lined pie pan from the refrigerator and spread the chard-cheese mixture evenly in the pan. Pour the egg-milk mixture through a mesh strainer into the pan, spreading the liquid until it covers the chard and cheese. Fill to 1/4 inch below the top of the crust. [If you have a little extra egg-milk mixture, you can use it for French toast.]

7. Bake the quiche at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until the top is golden and the center is set. Remove it from the oven and let the quiche rest for 10-15 minutes before serving or allow it to cool completely and refrigerate for a later use.

I've used different types of milk for quiche and I've found that whole milk and evaporated milk are excellent. Two-percent (2%) works fine, too. However, skim milk does not produce a rich and smooth filling. I like to use a mixture of Swiss cheeses, too. Try your own combination of Gruyere, Emmenthale, Jarlsberg, or other Swiss cheeses.

Enjoy!

Shelley