Eric's Kitchen in Jersey City: Bacon, Mushroom & Spinach Quiche

My Mom makes amazing quiche and I wanted to try and it make it like she does but she was away on vacation and so I couldn't get her recipe. So I looked up how to make a healthier pie crust online (see below) and looked in my copy of the Joy of Cooking book for a recipe for the filling. I used their Quiche Lorraine recipe as a guideline and added sauteed mushrooms and spinach.

Crust: (from this wonderful website)
1.5 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp whole milk
1/2 cup olive oil

So obviously you need to make the crust first. This recipe is great for things like quiche or maybe even a cheesecake as it's a very crumbly crust, almost like graham cracker crusts. I wouldn't recommend it for pies although I've never made a pie! Preheat the oven to 375 and mix your salt and flour first. Combine the milk and oil and then add them to the flour mixture. Mix it all thoroughly and then form it to your pie pan. I used a glass Pyrex pan and greased it slightly with olive oil Pam. Bake for 20 minutes.

Filling:
3 eggs
2 cups whole milk
1/2 lb. bacon, cooked and crushed into bits
1/2 package baby bella mushrooms
handfull fresh spinach
1/3 cup onion, chopped
pinches of white pepper & paprika
1/2 cup shredded Gruyere cheese

For the filling, I started with the bacon. I cooked it until crispy and let it dry on some paper towels and removed MOST of the fat from the pan. My mom would kill me for doing this as she's a total health nut, but I then cooked the mushrooms and onions in the remaining bacon fat with a little black pepper. It just seemed like a waste to not use it and it gives such a good flavor. When the mushrooms and onions were soft I added the spinach for just a few seconds until it was wilted and then set these aside.

To keep your crust from getting soggy you can brush it with an egg white before adding your other ingredients. Preheat the oven to 375 or if you're doing this all at once leave it hot. The recipe then said to crumble the bacon and make a layer at the bottom of the crust and then add your shredded cheese on top of that. I wondered at this point if the filling would mix properly or if everything would be at the bottom but continued and added the mushrooms, onions and spinach on top of the cheese.

You then want to combine the the eggs, milk and spices and pour these on top of the other ingredients. You will notice that many of them will float, giving you a more evenly mixed filling. Bake this for about 40 minutes until it's nicely browned on top. Next time I may add another layer of cheese to the top to help it brown even more. In the end you should have a nice, fluffy and delicious meal or snack for any time of the day.