For lunch I decided to try my hand at a quiche. After perusing four different books and two blogs, I made up my own recipe. Before making the filling, however, I made Clotilde’s Olive Oil Crust. While the crust cooled in the fridge and then baked in the oven, I prepared the filling below:

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup cream
• 1 cup Gruyère cheese
• 2 eggs
• about 5 oz fresh spinach
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 small onions
• pinch nutmeg
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Wash the spinach well and chop the onions
2. Heat a 10″ skillet (I use cast iron) and cook the onions in the olive oil until soft and light golden
3. Meanwhile, chop up the spinach and add to the onion when it’s soft enough, folding it in until it begins to wilt. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Once the spinach is almost all wilted, transfer to a colander and let drain from excess liquid. Let it cool.
4. Mix cream and eggs until well blended and smooth, add cheese, a pinch of nutmeg (about 1/8 tsp) and mix in the spinach mixture.

Bake in a pie shell in 400 F (200 C) for about 35-40 mins. We had it for lunch with a nice green salad garnished with grapefruit and balsamic vinaigrette.

Ingredients:

1 can white navy beans (or any other bean), rinsed

2-3 cups spinach, washed and coarsely cut

2 garlic cloves, slices

3 tbsp sunflower seeds, lightly toasted (pine nuts would also be nice)

3 tbsp currants

1 red pepper

1/4 cup white wine (or water or stock)

olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the broiler on high for a few minutes while you wash the pepper and spinach. Once the oven is hot, place the whole pepper on a cookie sheet underneath the broiler and roast it until it is charred on all sides (about 10 mins). Remove the pepper from the oven and wrap in tin foil. [This is based on the method described here]. Once the pepper is cool enough to handle, unwrap it and peel off the skin. Chop it up.

2. Soak the currants in hot water for about 10 mins.

3. Meanwhile pre-heat a skillet on medium heat and add 2 tbsp olive oil. Add the garlic and cook until golden (be careful not to burn the garlic!)

4. Add the spinach, season with a bit of salt & pepper. Once it starts to wilt, add the white wine.

5. Once the white wine has evaporated somewhar and the spinach is wilted, add the currants (drained), sunflower seeds, & beans and mix well. Lower the heat.

6. Mix in the roasted red peppers and serve.

We had it warm and it was very tasty. The next day I added some balsamic vinegar to the leftovers and ate it as a bean salad. It was even better!

The recipe is quite simple:

Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil and a bit of butter and sautée half a cup of chopped red onions. Once the onions are soft, add a 1/2 tsp of smoked paprika (aka pimentón de la vera), salt & pepper to taste and after frying the spice for a few seconds, add 3/4 cup of chopped cherry tomatoes, and, after a minute or so, 1/4 pound of fresh spinach (something like 4 cups). Once the spinach has wilted, add 1 cup of chicken or vegetable stock and raise the heat the medium-high. Adjust the seasoning after the stock starts boiling and mix in 1 cup of couscous. Blend it in well, close the lid and remove the pot from the heat. After 5 minutes, remove the lid, fluff the couscous and add some fresh herbs if you have (I added about 3 tbsp of chives) and 1/4 cup of pine nuts. It was very yummy and light.