Spinach and Red Pepper Quiche with Sausage and a nutty Quinoa Crust (wheat free!)

I really think that quinoa makes a superior crust. Really. So if you have never tried it, now is the time! Quinoa is very high in protein, especially for a grain. For the crust I use quinoa flakes (a quick cereal) not the flour. I like the flakes because they give the crust a nuttier texture. Sometimes flour crusts taste, well, flour-y to me. Checkout the Quinoa corporation's website at: http://www.quinoa.net/145/index.html

Crust Recipe, for 1 crust:
1/2 package of Ancient Harvest Quinoa flakes (6 oz), see above picture
3/4 stick of butter-- if the crust isn't sticking together with this amount of butter, add a tsp at a time until it does.
1-2 TBS water, if needed to hold crust together

Cut butter into small pieces and mix into quinoa flakes, blend together in a food processor and add water one tablespoon at a time until the mixture forms into a ball, or can be pressed into a pie pan. You may need a little more or less butter than the recipe calls for.

Grease pie pan with butter then press quinoa mixture into the pie pan, starting from the middle and working out until you have a uniformly thick pie crust. I make mine quite thin, as I like it that way.

The Egg Mixture:
For one pie mix 3-4 eggs with 1 1/2 to 2 cups of milk (use the greater number if your pie pan is a deeper dish).

The Goodies: (Preheat oven to 375 F, for the quiche)
1 cup grated yellow cheese
1/2 cup feta cheese
1 red pepper, chop into thin 1 inch size
1/2 bag baby spinach, or about 3 cups worth, chop small
1 package of Italian sausage (about 3/4 pound)
butter for stir fry

1. Heat pan to medium heat and add butter, red pepper, and sausage. Break sausage into small bite size pieces as it cooks. Remove from heat when meat is done. Below is picture of meat and red peppers; I was making 2 quiches, so there are more ingredients pictured than is called for in this recipe:
2. Place grated yellow cheese as the bottom layer on the quinoa crust, leave a 3-inch circle in the middle and crumble the feta cheese in it. Aim to cover the crust with a layer of cheese, this will provide a yummy moisture barrier.

3. Next place chopped spinach over the cheese

4. On top of the spinach put the sausage-red pepper stir fry, use a slotted spoon to avoid adding all the juices. Here is what it looks like now:
5. Lastly pour the egg-milk mixture slowly over the "Goodies". You should now have a full pie dish, ready to cook. Hopefully you preheated the oven to 375 F.

Cover quiche with aluminum foil or an oven proof lid. The lid keeps the quiche moist and cooks it more thoroughly and quickly. Cook the quiche on a middle rack at 375 F for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 F. Cook until the pie insides are not "jiggly" when you lightly shake the pie. In other words, the middle of the quiche should feel dry to your touch. Overall it will probably take about 30-40 minutes of baking, less time if you are using a lid.

Spinach-Feta and Italian Sausage Quiche with a Quinoa Crust (wheat-gluten free)

Quiche has a lot of things going for it this time of the year. I love to cook with ingredients that are in season and both eggs and spinach are becoming more available. They are becoming more available if you have your own chickens as they begin to lay more eggs as the days get longer. And this is the time of year you can plant spinach here in the northwest. Spinach likes the cool and wet qualities of spring. Although it is maybe a little early to plant the spinach, it just snowed today. It was only a half inch, if that, but it covered up spring so fast! By afternoon it was--poof--gone! Or should I say, drip, it was gone.

Also included in this recipe is my very favorite quinoa crust recipe, which I created during a frustrated rage at the disgusting wheat and gluten free all-purpose flour by Bob's Red Mill. Bob's has this flavor that is just gross, like bad garbanzo beans, and I love garbanzo beans. So here is a great alternative: Quinoa Flakes and butter.

Quiche Ingredients:
3 cups chopped fresh spinach
1 # Italian Sausage (ground)
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups quinoa flakes
1/2 cup butter
1 cup grated carrot
approximately 1 to 1 1/2 cup feta (I like the sheep feta)
several slices of yellow cheese
olive oil for cooking

Quinoa Flake Crust: makes 1 pie shell

1 1/2 cups quinoa flakes (2 cups for larger pie dish): Quinoa is a dry cereal flake form of quinoa, which is normally round and small. The flakes are just that-- flakes, very thin and powdery. If you live on Whidbey Island you can get them at Payless in the "health food isle" by the cereal and the chocolate/energy bars. I think they also have them at the Star Store. Be prepared, one box (about 3 1/2 +/- cups, or two pie shells) is about $7.

1/2 cup of butter, chopped into small squares

Put chopped butter and quinoa flakes in a blender and blend until it forms a wad of dough. Press into a regular sized pie dish. You can add a little more quinoa flakes for a thicker crust. I press the crust so it is thin but it covers the whole dish. Start from the middle and press toward the sides.Now place sliced yellow cheese around the edges of the crust and fill the whole bottom of the crust with feta, as shown in picture below. Place in preheated 375F oven for 5-10 minutes. You want to melt the cheese to form a moisture barrier. Make sure to not overcook the shell. Lightly browned quinoa shell is okay, but no more than that.

Melted yellow cheese and feta (above)

Now it is time to prepare the sausage. Cook on stove top with olive oil breaking into small-ish pieces as it cooks. cook until done and set aside.

Now for the "Insides" of the Quiche! Mix 4 eggs and 1 1/2 cups of milk until blended.

Above: Egg and Milk mixture (about to be blended, by hand)

Mix the blended egg/milk mixture with sausage and 3 cups chopped spinach. Pour into quinoa pie shell and place grated carrot on top for a nice color contrast. Place in a 350F oven for 30-40 minutes. Check periodically to see if egg mixture is firm. The middle is the last part of the pie to finish cooking, and you can touch it with our finger to see if it is firm. if it is you are done!

Quiche pie with spinach, eggs, milk and sausage, uncooked

carrots on top, uncooked