I don’t know if it happens to you, but this week has gone extremely fast for me. Maybe it is because of Easter, spring cleaning or what…Wednesday snuck up on me and I didn’t have anything planned for Easter brunch.

Then I thought, who doesn’t like quiche? I guess it all depends on what is in the filling.

Quiche is one of my favorite things, like Frittata. There is nothing that I like more than brunch or italian food (after of course, a good toast with butter in the morning). But honestly, quiche is great for dinner, lunch or at anytime. It is delicious hot, warm or at room temperature…just pair it with a fresh crunchy salad and you are set.

I tried to come up with a different version with a variety of ingredients like spinach and ricotta. I love that combination on tortellini or shells. Besides, every time I go grocery shopping I can almost hear the cherry tomatoes calling my name.

So I decided to add some veggies, onions and leeks for flavor and ricotta for richness, that way I could reduce one egg  from the original recipe. Also, I used reduced fat ricotta and fat-free half and half to see if I could make it a little lighter in calories without sacrificing any flavor. The key was the ricotta, it kept the quiche light and creamy.

It takes no time to prepare quiche, but what usually takes longer is to make the pie crust from scratch and the overall baking process. I find the store-bought crust extremely good and a time saver.

Spring Quiche or Quiche Primavera

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

1 16oz pie crust

1 leek, chopped

2 cups of baby spinach, chopped

1/2 sweet onion, diced

8 cherry tomatoes medley (orange, red, yellow), cut in halves

1/2 cup low fat ricotta

1/2 cup reduced fat 4 cheese italian, shredded (you can replace with shredded mozzarella and parmesan)

pinch of nutmeg

3 eggs

3/4 cup of fat free half and half

1/2  tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of pepper

1 tbsp of olive oil + 1/2 tbsp of butter

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Pinch the crust with a fork making little holes so that the crust will not rise. Bake for 5 – 6 minutes.

Place butter and olive oil in a saucepan and add the onion and leeks. Sprinkle some salt and pepper and sauté at medium high heat for a few minutes, until they start to get translucent. Add the spinach and toss at medium heat until it is wilted. Set aside to cool down.

Place the eggs, the half and half, the ricotta, the shredded cheese, the salt and pepper in a mixing bowl and whisk together until mixed. Add the cooled mix of spinach, onions and leeks and stir until incorporated. Pour this mix in the pie crust.

Place the tomatoes cut in halves on top of the quiche (face up). Place quiche in the oven on a baking sheet in the middle rack. Bake for about 40-50 minutes or until you stick a wooden pin in the center and it comes out dry and the center is set. Sprinkle a little bit of the shredded cheeses on top and bake for another 3 to 5 minutes until melted.

Let it rest for about 10 minutes after baking before serving.

 

Notes

Please note that time and  temperature may vary depending on your oven.