Replacing the dough with potato you will get a light and gluten-free salty cake that, in addition, you can prepare without cream or cheese.
Both for day to day and for special occasions: quiches are a simple, tasty and very helpful option that solves lunch or dinner and that both adults and children usually like. Now, the traditional recipe is not suitable for celiacs nor, admittedly, especially light.
We propose here a gluten-free version of a classic quiche, spinach. For the filling we suggest the traditional recipe with egg, but replacing the cream with a vegetable cream to make it lighter.
If you wish, you can also make it completely vegetable using only firm tofu instead of egg and cream.
THE POTATO: A VERY TASTY GLUTEN-FREE QUICHE BASE
It is true that there are gluten-free versions of broken dough, usually made with rice and corn flour, and with butter or oil. They are found in some supermarkets and specialty stores, or we can make them at home. However, another very simple option is to make the base with potato.
You simply have to cut it very finite, superimpose the sheets and, if you wish, paint them in oil. The potato will thus form a “dough” that will give a different touch to the quiche without making it heavier. In fact, it will be a base with hardly any fat, apart from the one you put in the mold so that it does not stick and, if you put it, the thin layer of oil to paint the potato.
In addition, as when you make it with broken dough, once the quiche is made with the potato base you can consume it hot, fresh from the oven, or cold, letting the quiche cool.
If you consume it the next day, that potato will have developed resistant starch, a type of fiber that helps strengthen the intestinal microbiota.
THE RECIPE: SPINACH QUICHE WITH POTATO BASE
The filling of the potato quiche can actually be prepared with any vegetable you like. Here we have chosen spinach, a very nutritious classic filling, but you can put mushrooms and onions, garlic, eggplant and roasted peppers, artichokes, leeks and cherries… The options are numerous.
Spinach, rich in iron and antioxidant vitamins, is ideal for filling savory pies. Not only does it lighten the recipe, but it helps to give it creaminess and it is delicious. In our recipe we combine it with raisins, which provide a sweet touch.
As for the cream that accompanies spinach in the filling, eggs provide you with quality proteins and, when curdled with a vegetable cream, provide a very creamy and nutritious filling much lighter than that of the traditional recipe with liquid cream.
If you opt for tofu to avoid eggs, the filling will be equally rich in protein and light.
As for cheese, you may be surprised, but the traditional quiche recipe does not have cheese. If you like the flavor it gives, you can add a little on top, or sprinkle the filling with nutritional yeast, a much lighter option that not only gives the quiche a cheese-like flavor but enriches it with its B vitamins and minerals.
And now let’s go with the recipe:
Ingredients for 4 servings:
- 3 potatoes
- 800 grams of fresh spinach
- 1 sweet onion
- 1 garlic clove
- 3 eggs (or 1 pack of firm tofu if you opt for the egg-free version)
- 200 ml soy cream or oatmeal cream
- 75 g raisins
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper
- A pinch of salt
- A pinch of nutmeg
Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 180 °C.
- Peel the potatoes, wash them and with a suitable mandolin cut them into very thin slices. Line a removable round mold with sulfurized paper, paint it with a very thin layer of oil so that you can peel off the paper more easily. Once prepared, cover the bottom and walls with the potato slices and bake for about 20 minutes at 180 °C.
- Peel and chop the onion in the meantime. Also chop the garlic clove. Cut them together with a little olive oil, until the onion is transparent or very lightly browned.
- Clean and wash fresh spinach thoroughly, making sure to remove any remaining soil. Incorporate them into the onion as it is along with the raisins and cook for about 5 more minutes. Spinach, with the heat, will release water. Wait for it to evaporate and remove from heat.
- Beat the eggs and mix them with the vegetable cream. Add salt, black pepper and, if desired, a touch of nutmeg. Slowly, add the spinach mixture. If you want to add cheese or nutritional yeast, do it now and spread them over the top.
- Take the mold out of the oven and see if the potatoes are almost tender; If not, leave them a little longer. Then pour the spinach filling into the pan and bake for another 30-40 minutes. Let it temper, unmold and serve.
You can consume it cold or hot. It will accompany you well with a salad with green leaves and raw vegetables.
If you use frozen spinach instead of fresh, cook them lightly and drain them well before adding them to the pan with the garlic and onion.
How to replace egg with tofu:
To veganize the quiche, pass the firm tofu through the mixer and then add it to the sautéed spinach, mixing it well. If it is very dense, you can add a little milk or vegetable cream, when beating or, little by little, in the same pan.
