Tag: leafy greens

  • Västerbottensostpaj med spenat

    Västerbottensostpaj med spenat

    [Spinach and Västerbotten cheese quiche]

    Spinach Västerbottenpaj, a Swedish quiche

    Quiche crust made with 3:2:1 pie dough

    Spinach Västerbottenpaj, a Swedish quiche

    Spinach Västerbottenpaj, a Swedish quiche

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    Spinach and Västerbotten cheese quiche

    Indulge in a Swedish classic with this Västerbotten cheese quiche, which I almost always make using my favourite: Svedjan cheese, a local artisan cheese made by the ever wonderful Pär And Johanna in Storkågeträsk.
    A buttery crust, creamy spinach filling, and distinctively tangy cheese, this quiche is amazing as part of a lunch buffet or served in wedges with a dollop of crème fraiche and some smoked salmon.

    Notes

    I like to bake my quiches in a 25cm tart tin; it makes for a slightly thicker quiche, although you could bake it in any tart tin 25 to 30cm wide. Just keep in mind that a deeper quiche will take longer to bake, so you might have to reduce the temperature slightly if your quiche gets brown too quickly.
    As mentionned above, I like to use Svedjan hard cheese, although you could easily replace it with Comté, Emmental or another had cheese of your choice. Follow Svedjanost’s instagram: @svedjanost.
    You’ll find my recipe for 3:2:1 pie dough here: https://fannyzanotti.com/321-pie-dough/.
    Author: Fanny Zanotti
    Prep Time25 minutes
    Cook Time35 minutes
    Total Time1 hour
    Makes 1 25-30cm quiche, serving 6-8 people

    Ingredients

    • 1 25-30cm quiche crust of your choice, I like both pâte brisée and 3:2:1 pie dough

    For the filling

    • 200 g fresh baby spinach
    • 2 tsp neutral oil
    • 3 eggs
    • 300 g whipping cream
    • 120 g grated Svedjan hårdost replace with Comté, Emmental or the hard cheese of your choice
    • salt and pepper to taste

    Instructions

    • Pre-heat your oven to 200°C/fan 180°C.
    • Blind-bake your 25-30cm crust using your favoruite method, at home, I'm partial to baking paper and rice, for 15 minutes. Remove the rice and paper and bake for a further 10 minutes, or until matte and light golden brown.
    • In the meantime, make the filling. Sauté the spinach in a hot frying-pan with a teaspoon of oil until it wilts. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and squeeze through a sieve to get rid of excess moisture. Cut into smaller pieces if you wish.
    • In a bowl, combine the eggs, cream and half the cheese, Mix using an immersion blender and season to taste.
    • When the crust is ready, reduce the oven temperature to 200°C/fan 180°C.
    • Arrange the spinach at the bottom of the crust, top with the remaining cheese and place in the oven. Carefully pour the egg mixture on top.
    • Bake the quiche for approximately 25-30 minutes until the filling is set and golden brown. Allow to cool slightly before slicing into wedges.
  • Spinach and cheddar muffins

    Spinach and cheddar muffins

    There are things you can never ignore.
    At times, you wish you’d forgotten; crab hunting, kissing in the wind, eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, drinking beer by the bottle, killing flies, licking icy popsicles.

    Other times, you’re simply happy to remember; stepping into Pierre Hermé’s kitchen, signing my apprenticeship contract, taking a plane to a new life, biting into a perfectly chewy spinach and cheddar muffin.

    It was a Saturday or Sunday – the day does not matter – of an early autumn morning.
    I had just arrived to London.
    The air was crisp and the sky just turning blue after a night made of blankets and raindrops hitting the windows.

    Somehow, those pretty rustic muffins felt fitting. Right that second, I could smell vanilla frosting and feel the warmth from a just-opened oven door. And by all means, I could hear words from happy people.
    I remember how the first bite burnt my tongue. I remember the heat of pepper, the flavour of onion, spinach, cheddar and perhaps even Portobello mushrooms. And the crumb.

    And then, in between creating desserts and reading books, I forgot about this moment. You know, that everyday-kind of happiness. But as autumn sneaked on us – in a rather unexpected manner – the frosty mornings and dark evenings made our house feel like home.

    A home with soft lights, throws on the sofa, a whistling kettle, and muffins in the oven.

    Spinach and cheddar muffins
    Adapted from the Hummingbird Bakery.

    I could express my love for these muffins through an extended description of their qualities. The bold flavours, the perfect chewy crumb.
    But the fact that they are equally delicious for breakfast, lunch or dinner – preferably with a side of piping hot soup, makes them my favourite in the world.

    Spinach and cheddar muffins

    makes 12

    30g butter
    one small onion, finely sliced
    one fat clove of garlic
    one chili pepper, finely chopped
    350g plain flour
    2 1/2 tsp baking powder
    a good grind of black pepper
    200g cheddar, grated
    250g milk
    one egg
    130g spinach

    Preheat the oven to 170°C. In a pan, melt the butter over medium heat and cook the sliced onion until soft. At the end, grate the garlic and throw the chili into the pan and give a good stir to combine the flavours.
    In a bowl stir the flour, baking powder, pepper and cheddar. In another bowl, whisk the milk and egg together, then pour onto the flour mixture using a wooden spoon to fold.
    The batter will be quite thick, and I must admit I like to use my hands to incorporate the cooled onions and spinach.
    Divide into twelve muffin-cases and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the muffins from the tin and allow to cool on a rack.