I’m not sure exactly how to say this, so I’m just going to go ahead and put it out there.
For the first time in…. ever… I had fun at a baby shower. Real time, legitimate good times at a baby shower. I wasn’t even faking it, not even a little bit.
I’m going to stand by what may be an unpopular position. In the past I’ve found most baby showers I’ve had to attend, a troubling combination of boring and humiliating. Between standing around listening to various labor horror stories and playing disgusting baby games that involve Tootsie Rolls and diapers, I typically just barely manage a fake smile.
This weekend’s baby shower was different. My friends Mitch and Lara got together, got married, and made another human that Lara is currently growing in her belly. These people are filled with hilarity, and an uncommon and humble goodness. Watching them open their baby gifts with grace and a downright speedy efficiency (thanks!), I couldn’t help but imagine their little girl filling the onesies, hats and socks they received. While it may sound silly, the reality of this impending life became more lovely and amazing as each gift was opened.
That I may or may not have been able to cheat at one of the baby team relay games has very little to do with me having a great time at the shower. Don’t press me on this. Please.
Now, without a well-crafted transition, I bring you Crustless But Still Dang Good Quiche.
Yes, I think the best part of a slice of quiche is the crust. Yes, I still made this quiche without crust. Sometimes crust, with all of its cutting butter and dusting and rolling pins, seem just a little too daunting for my late morning weekend breakfast. It turns out, if you slather the pie plate with butter, the quiche will bake up beautifully and when sliced, jump out of the dish with no problem.
I used a combination of spinach, mushroom, walnuts and blue cheese in this quiche. Feel free to play around with any ingredients you might have on hand. Next time I make this, I’m going to stay away from blue cheese. The flavor almost took over the whole quiche. I think a nice cheddar or gruyere would work better.
Crustless Quiche with Spinach, Mushrooms and Walnuts
adapted from The Good Egg
1 10-12 ounce bag of spinach, stems trimmed
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cups chopped mushrooms
1 garlic clove, minced
salt and pepper
3 large eggs
1 cup half and half
1 cup crumbled blue cheese (I would suggest using cheddar or gruyere instead)
3 Tablespoons chopped walnuts or lightly toasted pine nuts
butter for greasing the pie plate
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch pie dish and set aside.
Place the spinach in a large pot, cover and cook over medium heat just until wilted, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and spoon into a strainer set over a bowl. Let cool.
Press hard on the spinach in the strainer with the back of a spoon to remove most of the moisture, then squeeze in your hands to remove more. Turn out onto a cutting board and coarsely chop Place between two layers of paper towels or wrap in a clean kitchen towel and press to remove more moisture. You should have about 1 cup packed spinach. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minutes more. Add the spinach and cook, stirring, until any remaining moisture has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add a pinch of salt (the cheese is salty, so you won’t need much) and pepper to taste.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until light. Stir in the half and half. Spoon the spinach mixture evenly into the buttered pie dish. Sprinkle with the cheese and nuts. Pour in the egg mixture.
Bake the quiche until puffed and golden brown, about 35 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature, cut into generous wedges.
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I only know of baby showers that involves TONS of booze. I mean, honestly, it’s just an excuse to party round here. The mom of course doesn’t drink, but she loves her presents I guess that keeps her occupied. lol…At least you get a tootsie roll…we have a hunk of chocolate that’s melted then SMEARED over the diaper…and all sorts of other gross stuff! lol…
Mmm…quiche…making that tonight with a small salad on the side! Thanks Joy! :)
This looks SO So SO good! Gorgeous photos!
I couldn’t agree with you more, about baby showers (and bachelorette parties) and the bad boring-humilliation combo they are (most of the times) but also agree with you on the most important thing: sometimes even a quiche screams no crust on it.
thanks!
h
Any alternatives for half and half girl? :S
Half and Half is a mixture of whole milk and heavy cream. If you can’t get a hold of half and half, I bet whole milk will work just fine!
thanks a gazillion girl :)
I never eat the crust with quiches, just scoop all the delicious filling out….so this is perfect for me. Looks packed with goodness – yum!
this was delish! with white cheddar? perfect
That quiche looks really tasty! I am going to have to try going crustless next time.
Not only are your recipes just amazing and the photos beautiful but you have the most amazing writing style to boot! I love how you put a quirky flavour into your posts which makes reading them so much fun and at the end, we get a great recipe! Thanks so much! :D
Simple and elegant.
Just made this tonight for my gluten/dairy free family- I subbed So Delicious Coconut Milk creamer for the half and half and left out the cheese, and made it with broccoli, mushrooms, and ham, since that’s what I had on hand. Divine! Thank you!
I made this with cheddar as you suggested and pine nuts. Yummm! And the reason I decided to make this today is because it’s Pi Day…since I’m cool like that. :P
I made this the other day with white cheddar for a cheese-centric Iron Chef party…I think I’ll make another with my leftover half & half :)
love the crustless quiche for my gluten free bff! will probably sub almond milk for the half and half, though. thanks a bunch for the recipe.
I love the inspiration of walnuts in a quiche.
My mother in law makes this perfect salad with walnuts, spinach, pears and blue cheese. I wonder if this would work with sliced pears or a pear bread on the side…
Isn’t a quiche without a crust just an oven baked ommelette? *feels silly for asking*
don’t feel silly!
i guess you could call it an oven baked ommelette.
wait.. how the heck do you spell omlette? i’m confused.
I bought a container of shredded gruyere and I’m three ounces short, blaah. Is gruyere a mild swiss? Can I just use a little of that?
sure! feel free to use whatever cheese you have on hand! it’ll still be delicious!
Ok Joy this is another staple now. I take any and all leftovers and do a great on the go quiche. My son will even eat this. Today I did spinach and leftover turkey meatloaf from TTK .with aged sharp cheddar. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO yuimmy!!!!! I’m thrilled is that weird to be so excited?? Joy I was so disappointed with Big Sur Cook book. Not for the faint of heart. I live in San Francisco so I’m very familiar with Big Sur. JOY WE need you to compile all your favorites and make a BOOK !!! I not buying one more cookbook til I buy yours.
holy breakfast batman!!
thanks for linking this to your adorable/embarrasing brunch date post – i cannot WAIT to try!
Joy, OMG! I made this for dinner and added little slices of sausages and it was really delicious. My husband told me, “Make sure you say Thank you to Joy”. Thank you. Great pics too : )
I made this for a potluck and it was really delicious! Will definitely make again soon
hi joy, is it advisable to use frozen spinach? and does heavy creem = whipped cream? sorry, i’m not really a baker!
My dear friends, Monica and Bill, made this delicious quiche for our New Years Day (2011) breakfast. It was perfect. I was astonished at how well it came out of the pie dish…without crust. And toasted pine nuts added a wonderful but subtle richness.
re: half and half vs. whole milk!!
i made this just tonight for a picnic tomorrow. made sure all ingredients were bone dry, followed all instructions to the letter – except when it came to the half and half because i didn’t have any on hand and it was suggested whole milk would work ok so i put in a little less than 1C of it. milk was a baaad choice! the quiche came out really quite watery, and the whole thing is more scrambled than quiche like. the flavours are all there but as i’m serving it to friends i’m a bit embarrassed at the texture and how it looks. wish i had ducked out for some cream :(
Hi Penelope,
I made this thrice – first 2 times successful but the 3rd time was watery. I used a mixture of buttermilk and evaporated milk. I think my mistake in the 3rd attempt was that I didn’t whisk the egg long enough to get a light consistency. Hope that this helps :)
I made this with frozen pie crust and it was delicious. I agree that the crustless version would be just as good. Gruyere is an excellent choice; swiss could be a decent substitute too. I didn’t chop the spinach because it’s not really necessary, but removing the excess moisture is key!
I made this tonight with a frozen pie crust, too. Also used crumbled goat cheese and crushed walnuts. Didn’t have half and half, so used buttermilk instead. Had to substitute a few things cause of what I had on hand, but was still good. Thanks for sharing, Joy!
I made this for fathers day this year and my father absolutely loved it! I had to leave out the mushrooms but I did use gruyere cheese instead of blue cheese and it was DELISH! much recommended!
thanks for the recipe Joy!
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