Gluten Free Wednesday: Broccoli Vegetable Quiche with a Potato Crust

Happy Gluten Free Wednesday!

(This is the post I attempted to submit this past Wednesday, but here it is now!)

I'm not really sure how this meal started.  All I know is that half way through preparing it, I wanted to throw my hands in the air and/or pull my hair out.  I had initially started off by making a gluten free pastry crust, out of a new gf cookbook I recently received as a gift from a friend.  Everything in the book was so beautiful and I had such high expectations.  The book was not even vegetarian, let along vegan, but that is pretty normal for gf cookbooks.  So, in the crust I substituted Earth Balance for the butter and used non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening as called for in the recipe.  I also refrigerated it for half an hour as indicated in the recipe.  I followed it exactly, minus substituting the Earth Balance for the butter, but that is a direct substitution.  I did a test run - I baked a small tart shell of the pastry crust and was so excited - it looked beautiful and buttery and delicious.  When it came out, I could barely wait for it to cool.  When I tasted it ... I almost gagged and spit it immediately into the garbage.  It was all butter!  And not in a good way at all!  It completley fell apart when I picked it up (yes, of course I used xanthan gum!), and as soon as it touched your tongue, it disintigrated into a thousand disgusting, gritty pieces. 

Damn!  I had already made the filling ingredients though, so I had to do something!  Then I recalled seeing a blog where a woman used thinly sliced potatoes as the crust.  It could work, I thought.  So, I tried it, and realized something right away, when I tried par-baking it.  #1: You need to spray a little bit of oil on the potaotes when they go in the oven, or they shrivel and turn greyish-black.  and #2: You really have to overlap the potatoes, because they will shrink and leave giant gaps where the filling can spill out.  This ended up being really tasty - everyone had seconds!  But, I' not sure I will make it again - at least not the potaotes as crust part.  Phew!

Broccoli Vegetable Quiche with a Potato Crust:



Potato Crust, Vegetable Filled Quiche

 Serves 10-12

Crust:
6 medium potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled, sliced thinly on a mandoline
sprinkled with black pepepr before baking, drizzled with oil.  when finishes baking, sprinkle with salt.

Filling:
2 pkg. silken tofu
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium red bell pepper, small diced, about 1 cup
1 jalapeno, minced, about 2 tablespoons
2 heads broccoli (save stems for another use), chopped
10-15 crimini mushrooms, sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped garlic, about 6 cloves
1 large red onion, small diced, about 1 1/2 cups
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 Rapunzel vegetable boullion cube, broken apart with fingers
1/4 cup cashew butter
1/4 cup unsweetened soymik
4 tablespoons arrowroot powder
3 tablespoons mirin
1/4 teaspoon chipotle pepper powder

1.  Make the crust first.  Line the bottom of a 12" quiche pan with aluminum foil.  Generously oil the bottom and sides of the pan.  Layer the sliced potaotes all along the bottom and sides of the pan - and I mean layer them!  See below.

Layer, Layer Layer those Potatoes!

2.  Sprinkle the potaotes with black pepper and drizzle with olive oil.  Place in the oven and bake for about 8-10 minutes.  Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with sea salt.  If you sprinkle with the salt before baking, it will make the potatoes release too much water, and they will become tough. 
3.  Prepare the filling:  in a large wok over medium-high heat, add the oil and allow it to become hot.  Once it it hot, add the red and jalapeno peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, garlic and onions.  Cook, stirring often until the veggies are tender-crisp.  Set aside.
4.  In the bowl of a food processor, add the silken tofu, and the rest of the ingredients (all the spices) from the sea salt on.  Process until completely smooth and silky.  You can taste it, but remember that it will have a slightly funny texture from the uncooked arrowroot, used to thicken and hold together the quiche. 
5.  Pour the pureed tofu mixture into a large mixing bowl and add the sauteed veggies.  Fold everything together.  Place the vegetable/tofu mixture into the prepared potato crust.  Flatted the top with a rubber spatula.


The Vegetable/Tofu Mixture in the Potaoto Crust - Unbaked

6.  Place the quiche in the oven and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until center is firm to the touch and top is golden in color.  Allow the quiche to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving or it will not cut nicely.  Serve!

Enjoy!

-K