November is waving goodbye, I try to stay positive and upbeat even though the weather is getting colder and colder. No matter the temperature outside, the last Monday of the month brings with it a warm feeling: it is Reveal Day for members of The Secret Recipe Club. After getting an assigned blog in secret, we have about 3 weeks to pick a recipe, cook, compose a blog about it and post at the exact same time as everyone else in the group. This month I was paired with Curious Cuisiniere, a blog hosted by Sarah and Tim, a young couple with a smile as bright as the sun on a summer day in Brazil. If you don’t believe me, check their beautiful photo… I love it when a couple has so much fun cooking and exploring different flavors and cuisines, so I was pretty excited to act as a virtual stalker of their site. Before I go into the recipe, let me share with you a great quote from their blog:
Life gets rough. The kitchen gets hot. But there will hopefully always be something tasty that results, someone to share it with, and lessons learned along the way.
Perfect! I wish I had written that myself… 😉 During the stalking phase, I selected 6 other recipes as strong contenders: a Sweet Potato African Peanut Soup, a tasty Coconut Fish Curry, a Sesame Chicken Salad (with an interesting method to coat the chicken pieces), Oriental Burritos. a Sweet Chicken Tajine, and finally something I’ve been wanting to try for a long time, Pretzel Rolls. But, with a dinner party approaching, I settled on the cute mini-quiches.
POTATO CRUSTED ITALIAN MINI-QUICHES
(slightly modified from Curious Cuisiniere)
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for the crust
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
Salt and pepper to taste
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1 cup chopped fresh spinach
1 shallot, finely minced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/8 teaspoon salt
dash of nutmeg
3 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
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Heat your oven to 350F. Place diced potatoes in a medium saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Boil potatoes until soft. Drain all but ¼ cup of the cooking liquid. Mash the potatoes with salt and pepper to a very smooth consistency. Spoon roughly 1 teaspoon of mashed potatoes into the bottom of each section of your greased mini muffin tin. Press to the bottom and slightly up the sides to form a ‘crust’. Bake potato crusts for 20 minutes or until they start to get golden.
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In a medium bowl, combine dry spinach with shallot, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. Toss to mix well. Reserve. In a small bowl beat the eggs and milk until well combined. Season with a little salt and a dash of nutmeg.
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When your crusts come out of the oven, immediately measure or pour roughly 1 Tbsp egg mixture into each cup. Add ½ tsp of spinach mixture and ½ tsp mozzarella cheese to each cup as well. Top off with additional egg mixture if needed. Bake mini-quiche 15-20 minutes at 350F, or until they have set and are firm to the touch. Let the quiche cool for 5 minutes in the pan on a wire rack before removing the quiche from the pan to cool on the rack.
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ENJOY!
to print the recipe, click here
Comments: I only have one mini-muffin pan that holds 12 muffins, so I had to bake these in two batches. That turned out nicely, because in typical Sally fashion, I disregarded the instructions to use 1 teaspoon of mashed potato in the first batch, and added more. That is no bueno, folks. The layer of potato turned out too thick, never quite crisped up, so the first batch looked sad. Not very brown at the bottom. The photo above shows the correct amount of potato, which interestingly enough is exactly what the recipe called for! So, do as specified and save yourself some grief.
I also thought it was a good idea to add the spinach to the milk-egg base and mix it. No bueno hits again: the spinach just floats and you are forced to mix it in and do all kinds of tricks and messy maneuvers to get equal amounts of spinach in each mini-muffin. Crass language will be heard. Once you follow the recipe as written, there shall be no problems.
Using mashed potatoes as the base was a nice change to the regular quiche. The use of milk instead of heavy cream also lightened up the recipe compared to the classic. I can see variations using sautéed mushrooms, my sister in Brazil wants to make it with sautéed zucchini, all sorts of goodies can be incorporated, just like a normal sized concoction.
I had a great time this month, and invite you to check the productions of my fellow Secret Stalkers from Group D. All you have to do is go poke a blue frog. There is one smiling at the end of this post, waiting for your click… 😉
ONE YEAR AGO: Beetroot Sourdough for the Holidays
TWO YEARS AGO: Cod Filet with Mustard Tarragon Crust
THREE YEARS AGO: Soba Noodles: Light and Healthy
FOUR YEARS AGO: Potato-Rosemary Bread
Oooh yum! Those look amazing. You had me at “potato crusted!” Bueno!!
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Potato crusted has a pretty nice melody to it….
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What a great alternative to pastry! Lovely pick for SRC 🙂
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A lot easier than dealing with dough, that’s for sure! Particularly if you follow the recipe instead of “Sally-ing” it
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Potato crusted and grain free? What’s not to love. Great job this month. 🙂
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Thank you, April! Great to “see” you!
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Well, the potato crusts draw me also even if I am basically not a potato eater 🙂 ! A wonderful offering for the forthcoming season . . . but reading some of the other recipes on your list above: as the weeks pass, could we have some of them too, pretty please!!!!
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Come to think of it, we rarely eat mashed potatoes, I don’t even remember last time I made some, but it’s a wonderful use for it…
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Mini quiches are so fun! And I bet they’d be the perfect little appetizers for T-Day!
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Very cute T-day appetizers, I’ d say…. Not too heavy, definitely they have some elegance…
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Those look great. Have a Happy Thanksgiving in your new kitchen!
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Thank you so much, Carole! I wish you a peaceful Thanksgiving…. wherever you will be spending it…
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I just love that you made these mini quiches Sally! I had Sarah’s blog last month and this was the runner-up recipe. They look amazing, really scrumptious! Great pick for today.
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I could not resist them, too cute and the idea of using potato for the crust was too lovely to pass….
Secret Recipe Club is a ton of fun!
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Oh boy this would work for pre thanksgiving meal day, but I just went to store and thought I was done! 😉
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Ha! Story of my life, going to the store and “thinking” I am done…. 😉
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I love that you add in your personal notes!! Certainly helps and I am going to make these for ladies bible study tomorrow night!!
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Great! I hope it’s a success!
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Still chuckling over your “no bueno” comments, but thanks for doing the experimenting for the rest of us. The potatoes giver he mini quiches more substance, a good thing when feeding a hungry brunch crowd. Great SRC choice.
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… please ‘scuse the typos above, auto-correct got creative!
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I am the Queen of the typos, so your comment is fine with me… 🙂
I am also the Queen of tweaking recipes and suffering from it (sigh)
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Wonderful pick for SCR~ Lynn @ Turnips 2 Tangerines
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Thank you, Lynn! We both loved these mini quiches…
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I know. Sometimes more isn’t more. Its’s just not good! But these look lovely and are a fab idea!
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I should have imagined that more potato could be trouble… but I am also a tiny bit stubborn…(just don’t tell Phil I admitted)
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Looks delicious! I will definitely have to try this.
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Go for it, Tara – my niece in Brazil ended up making it wih leeks, I think and she and her husband loved them! Her husband said “it was just like a fancy restaurant food” – there you go!
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these would be great to keep in the freezer and pop in to lunches
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Perfect indeed! They defrost quickly, the thing is to re-heat in a way that the crust won’t be soggy. I think some experimenting is necessary
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A great base for a quiche. I love mashed potatoes and this is just another excuse to eat some more. 🙂
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Gnocchi, potato-crusted quiche…. potato pancakes…. great list!
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What lovely and delicious mini quiches, Sally! Wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving! xx
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Have a wonderful Thanksgiving too, Denise! It is my favorite American holiday….
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These would be perfect for a holiday party! Awesome choice this month 🙂
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I totally agree, Melissa….. Thanks for stopping by….
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Thank you so much for your kind words! I’m so glad you enjoyed the quiche, and now you have me wanting to try these with mushrooms and zucchini!
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Hello there, Sarah! So nice to see you here, I hope you had fun with your assignment too!
Have a great Thanksgiving week!
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Wow, those look amazing.
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Thanks, Greg!
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It has been SOOO cold here Sally. I’m trying to stay positive too! I need to get into the kitchen and bake more I guess! These quiches look gorgeous and sound delicious. Thank you for sharing them!
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Not easy to be positive with a high of 32F today, but I’ll do my best to keep a smile on… (sigh, sigh, sigh)
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Days are getting short and grey here too and it is not easy to stay positive
Now that I have made peace with spinach, I think I would love to give this a try.
I had to smile at the parts where you did not follow the recipe and had trouble. I do that all the time and blame myself afterwards but then comes a recipe where I follow it to the letter and do not listen to my instincts and it back fires!
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he, he, he… made peace with spinach is funny! I need to do the same with anchovies, but they fight me back hard…. 😉
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Oh if you figure out how to make peace with anchovies and celery please let me know! I have been trying for years!
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I just LOVE these!!! Such a wonderful idea to use mashed potatoes for a quiche crust. I love everything all them, really, and want to make them for a party too. Pinning right now. GREAT src pick!!
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Thanks for the pin! Love the pin! 😉
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What a great little treat! You chose a great recipe, Sally, and just in time for the holidays. I bet these get gobbled up as soon as they’re served. I know they wouldn’t last around here. 😉
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They disappear fast, I can tell you that! Maybe they are a tad too heavy for THanksgiving spread, but not too bad. I guess it beats a platter of cheese and crackers 😉
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Yum! This sounds so good!!!
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Love the potato crusts here….so clever!
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These look so cute and I love the potato crust. Perfect for Xmas party season coming up. Great SRC pick!
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What a brilliant idea! I’m having folks over to watch the boat parade in a week or so and these will be perfect for the ‘walk around’ food!
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