Quirky Quiche with Phyllo
A Greek Twist to the French Recipe
When I think of quiche, unfortunately, I tend to fall under the stereotypical idea of it being a 'feminine' food. I think of tea parties by a flower garden with female companions chattering away. While there is nothing wrong in associating quiche to frilly tea parties, it's nothing but a stereotype. Quiche can be as masculine as steak... but wait. Hang on, since when did food have a gender?! Normally I'd blame our society, but for now I'd leave it for another discussion. Quiche is delicious and quite filling, and we have to thank the French (or the English, since the name claims its French, but the English have been making such pasteries as well). Not to mention, it's a rather popular dish that many people have had the liberty of making their own variation of it. I mean there is quiche au fromage, quiche aux champignons, or quiche lorraine. Quiche is like a blank canvas and the cook is the artist, free to concoct whatever comes to his or her mind. For me, I decided to go a bit Greek and well, you'll see.
Ingredients
- 5 eggs
- 15 sheets phyllo dough
- 50g fresh spinach leaves, torn
- 3 mushrooms, chopped
- 1 orange pepper (or whatever colour pepper you like), diced
- 1 yellow pepper, diced
- Roughly 60g butter, melted
- 1tsp salt
- 1tbsp oregano
- 1tbsp basil
- 200g Gouda cheese, grated
- 100g Feta cheese, cubed
- 300ml milk
- Begin by greasing a deep pie dish with some butter. Place one sheet of phyllo on it, so that roughly one inch is sticking out of the pan. Brush the phyllo with butter, and add another sheet, so it overlaps slightly. Brush again with butter,and continue so that the bottom of the pan is covered, brushing butter between each layer. (See picture)With the excess dough on the sides, roll and form a crust gently as if it were normal dough. (I hope this explanation was good enough)
- Bake the completed crust for 5 minutes at 180C. It will still be pale, so don't worry, it will cook later. In the meanwhile, beat the five eggs and add the seasonings and milk to it. Incorporate spinach and feta into the mixture.
- In the phyllo crust, begin by putting the chopped mushrooms and peppers as the base. Next add the spinach egg feta combination. Make sure it is all evenly distributed. Finally sprinkle the Gouda cheese on top. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the cheese is completely melted and the crust should be golden. Serve warm and bon appetit!
