Crustless Spinach Quiche

Photo Credit: Jay Eads

Last month, my dearest Oma passed away.  She came into my life when I met Carsten, and she adopted me as another one of her granddaughters when Carsten and I were married.  Every minute I had with her over the last seven years was treasured.  There was more love and selfless generosity, more adventurous spirit and zest for life packed into that one tiny lady than I'm likely to find in another person in this lifetime.

On Easter weekend, every single family member joined together to celebrate her life, and the moments we were blessed enough to share with her.  Many emotional tears were shed, and laughs were expelled as we reminisced over our memories.  The morning of the memorial service, everyone gathered at Uncle Gregg's house for a family breakfast.  This recipe I discovered there, and I've slightly adapted it (adding spinach), just to fit my personal taste.  But this quiche will always remind me of that family gathering.

Ingredients
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup milk
1 1/4 cup cottage cheese
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1/4 tsp salt
5 eggs
6 oz cream cheese (low fat works just fine!)
6 oz Jarlsberg or Emmental cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 10oz pkg frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove all moisture

Procedure 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium low heat. Whisk in the flour until smooth, then gradually add the milk while continuing to whisk. Bring up to medium heat, and continue to stir.  When it begins to bubble, continue to cook for 2 minutes, until thickened. Remove from the heat and let cool for 15 minutes. 

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the cottage cheese, baking powder, mustard and salt. In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat eggs. Slowly beat in the cream cheese, then cottage cheese mixture and roux (butter/flour/milk mixture) until well combined. Fold in the Jarlsberg and Parmesan, then the spinach.

Pour into a greased 9 inch pie pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting. Serve warm.



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