Rainbow chard and cheddar phyllo quiche
This quiche is as fun as it gets. Baked in layers upon layers of crunchy and flakey phyllo pastry for the ultimate textural delight.
Not only does this quiche have a flakey wreath of phyllo as the crust, it’s got tons of grated cheddar inside along with garlic and sautéed rainbow chard leaves.
It’s an easy quiche to throw together — with a big wow factor!
I would suggest serving this quiche alongside my salty marinated lentil salad with feta and green olives for a très chic lunch.
Serves 6.
Ingredients:
6 stalks of pink and red rainbow chard
3 garlic cloves, sliced thin
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 large eggs
1 cup cream, such as heavy cream or pure cream
1/2 cup milk, full-fat
4 tbsp melted butter
15 sheets of phyllo pastry, thawed
1 cup cheddar, grated - from a block, not pre-shredded
few parsley stalks, chopped small
1 tsp cooking salt
1 tsp mushroom umami seasoning from Trader Joes - or substitute with 1/2 tsp onion powder and 1/2 dried mixed herbs
1/4 tsp ground turmeric powder
freshly ground black pepper
fresh grating of nutmeg
Method:
To prepare the rainbow chard: pick out 6 of the most beautiful vibrant colored stalks in the bunch. Remove the leaves from the stems. Roughly slice the leaves into ribbons, set to the side. Chop the stems into batons and as the stem thins, chop into smaller pieces.
Put on a small pot with 1 L of water to a boil. Once rapidly boiling, add 4 tbsp cooking salt.
Have a bowl with tons of ice and some cold water off to the side, ready to go.
Bring the water back to a boil, then add in rainbow chard stems. After 2 minutes, remove using a slotted spoon and transfer to the bowl with ice water. Once they have completely cooled, about 10 minutes, drain and pat dry.
Whisk eggs and milk: in a large mixing bowl, add eggs, cream, milk, salt, turmeric, mushroom seasoning and black pepper. Whisk until completely combined.
Saute greens: bring a large fry pan to medium-low heat and add 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. Add garlic and saute garlic for 2-3 minutes, or until super fragrant and lightly golden. Remove from the pan and set off to the side. Add rainbow chard leaf ribbons and a pinch of salt. Saute greens for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until they have shrivelled significantly. Remove from heat and let cool.
Prepare to bake: preheat oven to 175C. Grease a tarte tin, about 8 inch x 8 inch, with melted butter all over the bottom and sides.
Add a phyllo sheet to the tarte tin, lightly grease the top and sides with butter and add another sheet on top, this time placing it down to cover the corners that the previous sheet missed. Everytime you put down another phyllo sheet, lightly butter the bottom and sides and alternate the way you place it down so to evenly cover all sides of the tarte tin.
Layer the quiche: squeeze out any residual liquid in the sautéed greens and it should result in a tightly wound dry ball of greens in your hands. Toss in greens into the quiche tin, evenly spreading out any clumps, then add garlic, parsley stems and cheddar. Pour over cream and egg mixture and grate nutmeg over top. Roll in the over hanging phyllo to create a wreath around the quiche and brush with melted butter.
Bake for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and add the rainbow chard stems on top, evenly spreading them out.
Bake for 40 minutes more then let cool for 15-20 minutes.
