Spinach and tofu quiche with sun-dried tomatoes and feta

The first thing that pops out of my mouth when people ask me what's my favorite French dish is Quiche. French cuisine is not exactly vegetarian-friendly but Quiche is one dish that both vegetarians and vegans can easily enjoy. Interestingly, despite the general perception, quiche is actually German in origin. The word 'quiche' comes from 'Kuchen', the German word for cake. Traditionally, a quiche is an open pie crust baked with a filling of egg custard, bacon and cheese, which is what we know as Quiche Lorraine. Of course, today there are several types available, and the fillings can vary as far as your imagination can go.

In contrast to the quiche of today, which is made with a crimped pie crust...the original quiche was more rustic in look, and was cooked in a cast-iron pan with un-crimped pastry edges. With that info fresh in my mind, I decided to ditch my pie dish and make my quiche the old way.

And, fancy as a quiche may sound, it's really not that tough to make! Yes...even if you make the pie crust at home! There are many fillings that can be used to make a quiche, but I love the flavours of spinach, sundried tomatoes and feta cheese together.

To make one 10-12 inch pie crust -

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups flour

50 gms butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes and chilled

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

3-4 tbsps cold water

For the filling:

200 gms tofu

80 ml milk

500 gms fresh spinach, chopped and pressed to remove excess water

2-3 sundried tomatoes, drained and chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup chives, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

2 tbsps olive oil

50 gms feta or any other goat cheese

salt

pepper

The key to making a good pie crust is in using the ingredients cold, which gives a tender and flaky texture to the crust. In a bowl, mix together the flour, salt and sugar. Rub in the cubes of butter until you get a coarse  and crumbly mixture. Altervatively, you could also use a fork to press the butter into the flour. Use water (bit by bit) until the dough comes together. Shape into a ball and press flat. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until you get the desired size and thickness. Place in a pie-dish, press the edges down and wrap with cling-film. Keep refrigerated while you make the filling.

Heat the oil in a big non-stick pan. Fry the garlic and onion until they start turning brown. Add the spinach and sautee until all the water dries up. Meanwhile, mix the tofu, milk, salt and pepper in a blender to form a thick puree.

Pre-heat the oven at 240 degrees C. Add the chives and the tofu mixture to the spinach, and mix well. Get the pie crust out of the refrigerator and spread the spinach and tofu filling evenly in it. Top with sun-dried tomatoes and crumbled feta cheese. Turn down the oven to 200 and bake for 30-40 mins until the pie edges start to brown.