Summer’s bounty is starting to come in, and my refrigerator is stuffed with greens from Farmer Kev’s CSA.  But luckily, my friend Alice Johnson has come to the rescue yet again with another delicious recipe—Summer Greens Quiche with a Cracker Crust.

Some thoughts about making pie crust: I enjoy rolling dough and making pie crusts.  This might come under the category of tooting my own horn, but I’m pretty good at making pie crusts, and I am of the firm opinion that a bad crust can ruin a pie. However, I must also acknowledge that making homemade pie crust takes a fair amount of time and makes a bit of a mess. When you come home from work at 6:00 p.m. or so, the last thing you probably want to do is dig out your rolling pin to make a pie crust.

So what to do? You could make a crustless quiche, but a quiche without a crust is like a cake without frosting. It’s all right, but when you cook, you want something that is more than all right. You want something that is delicious and, on a work night, not too time consuming.

Enter the cracker crust. If you take 1 1/2  cups of cracker crumbs—Ritz, Saltines, Club, most any nonsweet cracker will do—and add 1/3 cup of melted butter, then you will have a tasty crust with a minimum amount of fuss. No, it’s not as good as a regular crust, but it certainly beats no crust at all.

Best of all, this summer greens quiche with the cracker crust reheats beautifully, with the leftovers tasting just as good as when the quiche was first cooked.

I count this recipe as a triple win. First, it uses greens. Second, the cracker crust goes together pretty darned fast. Third, it reheats beautifully. Oh, and fourth—it’s delicious.

So grab that rolling pin after all, but instead of using it to make pie dough, use it to crush cracker crumbs. (I use a large Ziploc bag to contain the crackers while I’m crushing them.)

Happy Eating!

 

 

 

 

 

Summer Greens Quiche with a Cracker Crust
Adapted from a recipe by Alice Johnson

Ingredients

For the cracker crust

• 1 1/2 cups of cracker crumbs
• 1/3 cup of melted butter

For the quiche

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 cups of loosely packed greens—spinach, Swiss Chard, or kale or a combination
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup of heavy cream
• 1/2 cup of feta
• a pinch of nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon of cracked pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Combine melted butter and cracker crumbs. Press into a 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 10 minutes or until it puffs up and browns.
3. Meanwhile, coarsely chop the greens. Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds—don’t let the garlic get too brown. And greens and sauté until wilted. Remove from pan into a small bowl and set aside.
4. In a medium-sized bowl, wisk eggs and heavy cream. Stir in the cheese, nutmeg, and pepper. Spread greens’ mixture on baked crust. Pour egg mixture on top.
5. Bake for 35 minutes or until the mixture is set, and the top is golden brown. ( A knife inserted off center should come out clean.)