19-inchdeep dish pie crustfrozen, refrigerated or homemade
2Tbspbutter
1 1/2cupspacked baby spinach leaves
1/3cupchopped green onions
2mediumcloves garlicminced
6largeeggs
1cupheavy cream
3/4cupricotta cheese
2Tbspgrated Parmesan cheesedivided use
1-2Tbspfresh basilchopped
1/2tspsalt
1/2tspblack pepper or 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2tsponion powder
1/8 tspground nutmeg
1 1/2cupsshredded mozzarella or provolone cheese
8-10cherry tomatoeshalved
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Use a fork to prick the bottom of the pie crust and bake for 5 minutes.
In a medium size skillet, melt butter. Add spinach and green onions. Sauté spinach over medium heat for 1-2 minutes or just until spinach has wilted and released excess liquid. Add garlic, cook for 1 minute longer. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, cream and ricotta cheese with basil, salt, black pepper, onion powder and nutmeg. Add spinach, onions, 1 cup cheese and 1 Tbsp Parmesan. Stir until evenly distributed. Pour the egg mixture evenly into the pie crust.
Use a fork to evenly distribute the spinach. Arrange tomatoes on top and sprinkle with reserved 1/2 cup shredded cheese and 1 Tbsp Parmesan.
Bake spinach ricotta quiche for 10 minutes at 375°F then lower the oven temperature to 350°F. Bake for an additional 30-40 minutes or until the center is set when gently shaken.
Cool on a cooling rack for at least 15 minutes prior to slicing.
Notes
Ricotta: You can use full fat or low fat ricotta for this recipe. It was developed using full fat ricotta cheese.
Pie Crust: You can use a frozen pie shell, a refrigerated pie crust or homemade pie crust.
Pepper: You can use black pepper or crushed red pepper flakes, if you'd like a spicy flavor.
Butter: You could use olive oil in place of butter to sauté the spinach, onion and garlic.