You know you've got some good food on your hands when you have to text your kids to say -- don't eat the Swiss chard, I need it for a recipe. If you would have told me 15 years ago (when I had five kids who's idea of an palatable vegetable was French fries), that I'd have to protect green leafy vegetables from consumption, I would have laughed and said you're nuts. But here we are -- with a house full of kids who love spinach, kale and chard, times (and tastes) sure have changed.
Now that everyone (expect Jack) is home for the summer, we eat a lot of eggs (about 4 dozen a week) and they are the perfect thing to cook when you're pressed for time. We eat them poached on leftover beans, fried in a sandwich with smashed avocado, or in a tart with vegetables with Swiss chard and mushrooms. Their bad rap as being cholesterol time-bombs is beginning to unravel and it turns out, they may actually help prevent heart disease and stroke. There's a reason they're called incredible and edible!
Quiches are really easy to put together (I rarely make my own pie crust and instead use the refrigerated Pillsbury pie crusts from the grocery store), are good hot or at room-temperature, and are a blank canvas when it comes to what you put in them. There's a recipe for a tomato and corn quiche in my cookbook that I can't wait to make once my tomatoes start to produce and Corn Man shows up in Ashland -- here's a link (in case you are dreaming of summer produce too). While we're waiting, this quiche with Swiss chard and pine nuts is a good stand-in!
Swiss Chard Quiche With Mushrooms, Lemon Thyme and Pine Nuts
1 9-inch pie crust, store-bought or homemade
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 package of cremini mushrooms, sliced (you can substitute white button mushrooms)
4 cups Swiss chard (about 7 pieces), stalks removed and rough chopped
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup cream
1/4 cup pine nuts, sautéed in 1/2 tablespoon butter
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 tablespoon preserved lemon (recipe here), or substitute 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon thyme, substitute regular thyme, chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon coarse ground pepper
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. When oil is warm, add the onions and sauté until softened but not brown (about 5 minutes). Add the mushrooms, sauté for an additional 3 or 4 minutes, and add the garlic. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is fragrant and then add the chopped chard. Cook until the chard has wilted, remove from the heat, and set aside.
Place the eggs, cream, preserved lemon, thyme, salt, and pepper in a bowl and combine. Set aside.
Roll out the crust and fit into a 9-inch pie pan or fluted tart pan. Place the sautéed chard and mushroom mixture in the pie pan and then pour the egg mixture over top. Sprinkle the toasted pine nuts on top and place in the oven.
Bake until edges of crust are golden brown and center of quiche is just set, 30 -- 40 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before serving.
