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Swiss Chard, Sausage & Ricotta Quiche 

Yield: One 9-inch deep-dish pan or 10-inch tart (about 8 servings)

Ingredients:
Single-crust prepared pie dough
4 sweet Italian sausages
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large bunch Swiss chard, washed, stemmed, and
leaves coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced Kosher salt, cracked black pepper, to taste
1 cup ricotta cheese 8 large eggs
1/3 cup whole milk 1/3 cup heavy cream

 

Directions:

1. Heat the oven (375 F for deep dish, 400 F for a shallow tart pan) and prepare the pie dough, wrapping and freezing half for another time. Roll the pastry on a lightly-floured surface large enough to thinly line the pan with dough, gently pressing it to fit inside and fluting the edge if desired. 

2. Place the sausages on a baking pan and roast in the oven about 25 to 30 minutes, shaking pan occasionally, until the sausages are browned and cooked to an internal temperature of 155 F. Remove from the oven, cool and cut into ¼-inch thick slices. Meanwhile, heat a large pan over high heat and add the olive oil, Swiss chard and garlic. Season well with salt and pepper, and cook quickly, just until it has wilted down, approximately 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. When cool, squeeze all the liquid from the chard.

3. Assemble quiche by spooning half of the ricotta cheese in large dollops over the bottom of the pastry shell. Top with two-thirds of the sausage slices followed by all of the drained chard. Sprinkle over the remaining sausage pieces and top with the rest of the ricotta. Place the quiche on a baking sheet and prepare the egg mixture.

4. Whisk the eggs until very light and airy. Add the milk, cream, and salt and pepper as needed, whisking well. Pour this mixture slowly over the ingredients, gently submerging everything. Carefully transfer the pan to the middle rack of the oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until center is set and golden brown (for deep pie pans, allow 5 to 10 minutes longer). Remove from the oven and serve hot or warm.

Variations: This quiche can be made with any kind of meat, cheese or vegetables. With the exception of chopped broccoli and tomatoes, most veggies and all meats need to be cooked before assembling the quiche. Other than that, the varieties are endless.

 

Basic Pie Crust

Yield: One double-crust, 9-inch to 10-inch deep-dish pie

Ingredients:
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for the work surface
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cut into cubes
¾ to 1 cup cold water, or more as needed

Directions:

1. Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl and blend. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, cut in the butter and blend until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Slowly add the water, just enough so that the bowl is cleaned and a nice dough is formed. Gather the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic and chill at least 1 hour or overnight.

Balls of pie dough can be wrapped in plastic and frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before use.