roasted acorn squash quiche with spinach and peas

photo by mike. thanks mike : )

my nephew is most likely lactose intolerant which means that my sister has to avoid dairy while nursing. while this isn't exactly life altering, it has been pretty difficult and as a result, i've been experimenting with dairy-free recipes. when i saw a similar recipe for a pumpkin quiche, i thought it would just be cruel to make something so exciting and not be able to share the product, and so dairy-free quiche filled our hearts and bellies.

ingredients (for 2 quiche):

1 medium to large acorn squash, seeded and sliced, but not peeled (the peel will come off easily after roasting)
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
5-7 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
9 eggs
1 8 oz package tofutti
1 cup unsweetened soy milk
1 tablespoon stone-ground mustard
2 tablespoons fresh chives, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1-2 cups frozen spinach, thawed to a point where it is easily handleable
apx 1 cup frozen peas, same as spinach
1/3-1/2 cup earth balance, melted
12-16 sheets filo dough
bread crumbs for dusting (less that 1/4 cup)
salt and pepper to taste

preheat oven to 375 F.

dress the squash, onion, and garlic with the olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. roast for apx 40 minutes, until squash is tender and slightly brown.

while the veggies are roasting, you can prepare the egg mixture and filo crust. for a more textured filling, you can simply mix the eggs, tofutti, soy milk, chives, cilantro, thyme, mustard, salt and pepper together. for a smoother filling, you can first mix the tofutti and soy milk together to eliminate all of the tofutti chunks, then add the rest of the ingredients.
for the crust, begin by brushing a pie or tart tin with melted butter and layering sheet of filo dough upon the base. brush the layer with butter, sprinkle with bread crumbs (to prevent the next layer from sticking if it is accidentally mis-laid), and repeat with 5-7 additional layers, bunching the dough along the edges to prevent the eggy filling from spilling outwards. make sure to brush the final layer with butter, but at this point, the bread crumbs are no longer necessary.

when the roasted veggies have cooled enough to handle, you can easily peel the squash and arrange chunks within the prepared crusts, along with onions and garlic. upon the roasted veggies, you can sprinkle a layer of peas and another of spinach. to finish the quiche, you can ladle the egg mixture evenly between the two crusts and smooth over the tops. bake for 35-40 minutes or until the filling has set, and broil the tops if necessary.

this quiche is much lighter than a typical quiche because of the lack of cream and cheese, but it is still complemented nicely by a fresh salad.

enjoy : )