There can be no doubt that fall has arrived and my weekly visit to the farmers market is tinged with bitterness as I count the weeks until the market closes for another year. This weekend, I made sure to stock up on green tomatoes — and expect an unusual green tomato recipe later this week — apples, pears and other seasonal produce.
The fall is a good time of year for kale.
Around every corner were root vegetables, like celeriac, carrots and beets, dark leafy greens, and winter squashes in every hue of orange. Did you know that many of these hardy fall crops can be wintered over in cool or cold storage? By taking advantage of cold spots in basements or garages, you can store food you grow or local fruits and vegetables from farmers market for months.
Crops that can be stored at cool storage (45-60 degrees) with moderate humidity, include garlic, onion, and shallots. Store these members of the allium family in mesh bags in an unheated basement, shed or garage, at least until the real cold sets in. Other crops that will last in cool storage include potatoes, which should be kept away from any light, sweet potatoes, pumpkins and winter squashes.
If you don’t have an unheated garage or basement, a second fridge in the basement can work as well. This is best for what we call cold storage, between 45 and 32 degrees. Keep apples and pears, beets, cabbage, carrot, celery root, parsnips, turnips and rutabagas this way. But, one picky point: apples and pears give off ethylene gas which can affect vegetables negatively. So try to keep them separate if you can.
Of all the winter squashes, butternut squash is probably the hardiest and my family’s favorite. We like it in soups, risottos and in this seasonally-inspired quiche, paired with some dark leafy greens. The sweetness of the squash is a perfect foil for the slightly bitter kale. But feel free to substitute your favorite dark, leafy green.
Quiche, of course, is a classic dish to serve at lunch or brunch. But I think quiches can be hearty and satisfying, meatless dinners as well.
Quiches can be a lot of work. But, much of this work can be done ahead of time and broken up into stages. Today, I am going to give you a recipe that makes not one but two vegetarian quiches. Making two of these quiches is not much more work than making one. But the result is two delicious vegetarian meals. Eat one tonight and freeze one — yes, you can freeze a whole quiche, as I explain below — for another day.
This recipe begins by making a batch of dough for the two quiche crusts. Again, this step can be days in advance and the dough can remain in the refrigerator, well-wrapped, until needed. (The dough can even be frozen, so make it weeks in advance and freeze it if that is your preference.)
Other stages involve blind baking the quiche crusts, roasting the squash and sautéing the kale. All of these steps can be done in advance as well, and many can happen at the same time. For example, you can blind bake the crusts and roast the squash at the same time – both need a 400-degree oven and take about 20 minutes. While that is happening, you can sauté the kale on top of the stove.
All that is left at that point is to assemble your quiches, add grated cheese — try Parmesan, Swiss or Gruyère — and your custard filling. This hearty, delicious quiche will be a soothing, satisfying dinner on a chilly night. And knowing that there is a second one wrapped in plastic in my freezer, ready to be reheated on a busy night in the future will give busy parents a tremendous sense of peace.
By the way, curious about how to freeze a quiche? I recommend baking it first and then allowing the quiche to cool. At that point, wrap it well in plastic and foil and place in the freezer. (Label it and don’t put something heavy on top of it that could damage the quiche!) Do not thaw before reheating. Remove plastic wrap and bake in a preheated 350°F oven for about 25 minutes, or until heated through.
Did I just give a recipe for two Meatless Monday dinners? Why yes. Yes I did.
Ingredients
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 7 ounces cold, unsalted European-style butter, cut into cubes
- ½ cup ice water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice or red wine vinegar
- 1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into pieces
- 1 bunch kale, washed, stems removed and cut into ribbons
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Pinch red pepper flakes
- 6 oz nutty, firm cheese grated
- 2 cups milk
- 4 eggs
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to mix.
- Add the chilled butter to the dry ingredients and process just until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
- Combine the lemon juice or vinegar and ice water and add six tablespoons of the mixture to the ingredients in the food processor. Pulse several times until combined. Pinch a bit of the dough and if it holds together, you do not need to add more liquid. If it is still dry, add more of the liquid, one-half tablespoon at a time.
- Remove the dough to a bowl or a well-floured board.
- Knead the dough until it forms a ball. Divide the dough into two and wrap each half well in plastic wrap.
- Place the dough in the refrigerator to relax for at least a half-hour but preferably overnight.
- Remove the balls of dough from the refrigerator. If your dough was chilled for longer than thirty minutes, allow to soften for ten to fifteen minutes before rolling it out.
- Prior to rolling out the dough, strike it with your rolling pin to flatten. This will soften it further.
- Preheat the oven to 400 and grease the bottoms and sides of two 9-inch pie plates.
- Liberally dust a pastry board or mat and your rolling pin with flour.
- Roll the dough out, rotating it and turning it frequently and adding more flour as necessary to keep it from sticking, until it is the size of your pie plate and between ¼ and ⅛ of an inch thick.
- Carefully center the pie dough in the plate and press it into the bottom and sides. Trim or fold over any excess dough around the edges.
- Repeat with the second ball of dough.
- Chill the dough in the pie plates for 30 minutes if possible, and dock it several times with the tines of a fork to prevent bubbling.
- Blind bake the crusts by covering them with parchment paper and filling with pie weights or raw rice. Bake for twenty minutes, then remove the parchment paper and pie weights and bake an additional five minutes.
- Prepare the filling: toss the cubes of squash with 2 TB olive oil, salt and pepper and place on a lined baking sheet.
- Roast in the 400-degree oven for 20 minutes until tender. When the squash is cooked, turn the oven down to 325.
- Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in a large, deep skillet.
- Add the kale and the red pepper flakes and sauté until tender and wilted, about five minutes.
- Divide the cooked squash and kale between the two crusts.
- Top each with grated cheese.
- In a medium bowl, combine the milk and eggs and beat until combined. Season with salt and pepper.
- Pour the egg and milk mixture into the two pie plates.
- Bake at 325 for 45-55 minutes until firm. Allow to cool slightly before cutting.
- To save one of the quiches for another day, wrap well in plastic and foil and freeze.
- To reheat, do not thaw. Unwrap and warm in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes.
