Last year I came up with a quiche recipe that highlights the delicious winter veggies we’re still enjoying in early spring. However, spring 2014 Portland  has been unseasonably, but gloriously, sunny and warm. With the appearance of fresh asparagus in the market I was inspired to make this colorful spring quiche for the So Delicious Spring  Fling Dairy-Free Recipe Contest.

This recipe makes two whole quiches in pre-made pie shells which makes it a star recipe for a brunch gathering. I use pre-made pie shells to speed up the preparation of this beautiful dish. I recommend Wholly Wholesome for pre-made pie shells. They have organic vegan, white & whole wheat pie shells as well as a gluten-free shells! I’ve used the wheat crusts, both white and whole wheat, and they’ve come out wonderfully every time.

The Stuff:

• 1 small, red, sweet bell pepper, 1/4″ dice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small red onion, 1/4″ dice
• 1 medium zucchini, diced
• 1/2 pound asparagus, sliced in thin rounds (reserve 12 of the tips, cut at 2″ for garnish)
• 12 grape tomatoes, sliced in thin rounds
• 12 grape tomatoes sliced lengthwise, set aside for garnish
• 2 T fresh basil, chiffonade
• 3 T chopped parsley
• 1 t dry oregano
• 1t dry marjoram
• 12 oz firm, water-packed tofu
• 1 package firm, silken tofu
• 2 T cornstarch
• 1/4 c nutritional yeast
• 1/3 cup So Delicious Unsweetened Almond Plus 5X almond milk
• 1 T champagne vinegar
• 1/2 t turmeric
• 1/2 t dry mustard
• 1/2 t black salt* (optional)
• fresh pepper & sea salt
• 2 pre-made pie shells

*Black Salt, or Kala Namak is usually found at a Desi market or a good pan-Asian market that features ingredients popular in Indian and other South Asian cuisines. It is mostly sodium chloride, but it also contains sulfur in addition to the other minerals. It is pink or light purple in color and imparts a more subtle flavor cooked. It can be skipped, just add 1/4 t of sea salt, but it worth the effort to seek it out. If you don’t have any suitable markets in your area, Kala Namak Salt can be purchased online.

The Making

Bake the pie shells according to the directions and set aside.

Bring a saute pan to medium-high heat and lightly coat with spray oil. Add onions and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes, add garlic and continue to saute until very fragrant, about 3 more minutes. Add zucchini, asparagus, and bell pepper, sauteing for 7 minutes before adding dried herbs, sea salt, and freshly ground pepper, to taste. Saute for another 7 minutes and remove from heat.

Squeeze out water from water-packed tofu. No need to press for a long time, just squeeze out a little of the excess water with your hands. Crumble into large mixing bowl and add sauteed veggies, fresh herbs, and sliced tomatoes.

Put silken tofu, cornstarch, nutritional yeast, almond milk, vinegar, turmeric, dry mustard, and black salt into the container for a high-speed blender. Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides to be certain all dry ingredients are incorporated well with wet. Add contents of the container to the mixing bowl with the tofu and sauteed veggies.

Mix together all ingredients until evenly combined. Pour mixture into pre-cooked pie crust. Garnish each quiche with the reserved asparagus tips and sliced grape tomatoes.

Place filled pie crusts onto a baking tray. Bake in an oven pre-heated to 400 F for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the comes out clean.

Let quiche stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 12 servings (six generous slices per pie crust)

Nutritional Info (with crust)

Serving Size: 1 slice
Calories: 238
Total Fat: 14 g
Saturated Fat: 6 g
Cholesterol: 0g
Sodium: 242 mg (10%)
Carbohydrates: 20 g
Dietary Fiber: 6 g
Sugars: 4 g
Protein: 12 g

*Want a lower-calorie & gluten-free version?

You can also ditch the gluten and the calories in the crust by distributing the quiche into two dozen silicone baking cups that have been lightly sprayed with oil first.

Bake 30-40 minutes at 400 degrees, until a toothpick inserted into the comes out clean. This makes a whole pile (e.g., 24) of gluten-free mini quiches to enjoy!

These pack well for lunch or picnics, just don’t remove the silicone baking cup and stack into a container. They retain their shape well and are quite tasty chilled or at room temperature.

Nutritional Info (without crust)

Serving Size: 2 mini-quiches
Calories: 91
Total Fat: 3 g
Saturated Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0g
Sodium: 109 mg (5%)
Carbohydrates: 8 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g
Sugars: 3 g
Protein: 10 g

We love the mini crustless quiches from Fat Free Vegan, but have been on a quest for a full-sized quiche with a little more varied texture. For several weeks now I’ve been experimenting with quiche recipes on the weekends and finally have something I’m happy to post a recipe for. You can feel free to vary the veggies you add, changing them to fit the seasons, but the mix I include is pretty tasty.

The final version featured fresh kale raab we’d picked up the same morning at the Farmer’s Market. If you can get kale raab in the spring it is particularly lovely to find. Tender, sweeter, and so delicious, raab is a real treat when the spring veggies start coming in. Here in Portland we often see raab arrive before asparagus.

The Stuff

• 1 large, sweet bell pepper (red or orange)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 small red onion
• 1 medium zucchini
• 1 bunch kale or kale raab OR 1 large head broccoli
• 4 T chopped chives
• 4T chopped parsley
• 2t Herbes de Provence
• 12 oz firm, water-packed tofu
• 1 package firm, silken tofu
• 2T cornstarch
• 1/4 c nutritional yeast
• 1/2 cup vegan milk*
• 1 T champagne vinegar
• 1/2 t turmeric
• 1/2 t dry mustard
• 1/2 t black salt
• fresh pepper & sea salt
• 1 pre-made pie crust

The Making

Pre-bake the crust according to the directions and set aside. This recipe honestly makes a bit more than the pre-made crust and pan will hold, so I usually make a half dozen crustless quiches in silicon baking cups too.

Finely dice all veggies. Shred kale thinly or dice leaves along with the raab.

Bring a saute pan to medium-high heat and lightly coat with spray oil. Add onions and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes, add garlic and continue to saute until very fragrant, about 3 more minutes. Add zucchini and bell pepper, sauteing for 7 minutes before adding 2 tablespoons each of the parsley and chives, Herbes de Provence, sea alt & freshly ground pepper, and kale. Saute for another 7 minutes and remove from heat.

Squeeze out water from water-packed tofu. No need to press for a long time, just squeeze out a little of the excess water with your hands. Crumble into large mixing bowl and add sauteed veggies & herbs. Add in remaining parsley and chives.

Put silken tofu, cornstarch, nutritional yeast, vegan milk, vinegar, turmeric, dry mustard, and black salt into the container for a high-speed blender. Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides to be certain all dry ingredients are incorporated well with wet. Add contents of the container to the mixing bowl with the tofu and sauteed veggies.

Mix together all ingredients until evenly combined. Pour mixture into pre-cooked pie crust. You will have enough to fill 6 silicon baking cups that have been sprayed with oil first. Place filled pie crust and baking cups onto a baking tray. Bake in an oven pre-heated to 400 F for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the comes out clean.

Let quiche stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 8 servings.

*This recipe also featured a new product from So Delicious, a lovely, creamy Barista-Style Coconut Milk Creamer. A few weeks ago So Delicious graciously offered to send me some to try out, so I’ve used it in a few places where I’d otherwise have used soy or almond milk.

Christie has totally fallen in love with the Unsweetened Vanilla Coconut Milk to add to her smoothies. There should be a smoothie recipe coming soon.

So far the creamer has been a good stand-in and adds a nice richness to the dishes I’ve made with it. It might be boring, but I’m just loving the creamer added to my black tea in the morning, even more so than the  is really wonderful in my black tea in the morning!

There’s also been an experiment with Irish Soda Bread, using both the Barista-Style Creamer for a savory bread and the Vanilla Coconut Milk for a sweet bread with dried blueberries.