Swiss Chard and Spinach Quiche

What's best about rainy days??? There is plenty of time to stay inside and do some cooking, cause being outside is just no option....
When I lived at an appartement in a house with just me and the owner, with a garden in the backround with my own part, I planted some vegetables. One was a zucchiniplant - and I got huge zucchinis and what I had also was coloured swiss chard. But since I've moved to an appartement on the second floor I only got a balcony, though we got a garden, but there (i guess) is no chance to plant something. All what I got on the balcony are some herbs and not yet some flowers.

I really loved the coloured chard but one bad thing is I can't buy it at the local supermarket - too bad, I searched and searched, but no chance. I wanted to try the quiche with the coloured chard, I guess the color would have been great - but I havn't found them at the stores and so I had to take the normal swiss chard.

Well the taste was great. I made the crust by myself, but can take as well an already prepared one, just look at the ingredients to be sure the crust is vegan!




Swiss Chard and Spinach Quiche

Ingredients
Yields 8 generous servings

Crust
45 grams oats
3 tbsp sesame seeds
125 gr whole wheat flour
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp fine grain sea salt
80 ml  water
75 ml olive oil (plus 1 tbsp)
a pinch of black pepper

Filling
2 pounds / 1 kilo fresh spinach
1 pound / 500 grams fresh Swiss chard
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 ½ tsp fine grain sea salt
1 tsp finely chopped thyme
pinch hot red pepper flakes
1 block of tofu, rinsed and patted dry
Paprika for dusting

Directions

Preheat oven to 190°C. Place a rack in the middle.

To make the crust, place the oats, sesame seeds, whole wheat flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade, and process until the oats are ground.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the water, and oil. Using a wooden spoon mix in the dry ingredients to form a dough.
Lightly grease a 10-inch tart pan with 1 tbsp of olive oil. Put the dough in the tart pan, and using your fingers and knuckles press down evenly, making sure to fill in the sides of the pan. Trim the tart of any excess dough, and refrigerate while you’re preparing the filling.

To make the filling, in a medium pan warm the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onion and the garlic, raise the heat to medium high, and saute' for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring until the onions start to get caramelized. Season with ½ tsp of salt, transfer to a medium bowl, and set aside.
While the onion mixture is cooking, remove and discard the tough stems of the spinach. Wash the leaves. Transfer the spinach to a pot and cook, covered, over high heat for 4 minutes, until just wilted. Drain in a colander, and rinse under cold water to arrest the cooking. Drain well and squeeze dry. Transfer to a cutting board, and chop fine.
Wash the swiss chard, and remove the white stems. Transfer the green leaves to a pot, add 2 inches of water and cook, covered, over medium to high heat for 5 to 6 minutes. Drain in a corlander, and rinse under cold water to arrest the cooking. Drain well and squeeze dry. Transfer to a cutting board, and chop fine.
Add the spinach and the swiss chard to the onion mixture along with the tofu, thyme, red pepper flakes, the remaining 1 tsp of salt and stir well to combine.

Fill the tart shell with the greens mixture and smooth the top with the back of a spoon. Dust generously with paprika. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until firm.

Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.