Farmer’s Market Spring Quiche

By BeeWench Farms

This month there should be plenty to choose from at the Farmer’s Markets for all your meals. Many of our favorite Spring fruits are starting to appear. Look for beautiful strawberries, cherries, and rhubarb coming in. Most citrus is going to be more difficult to find this time of year, so make sure to enjoy the last tastes of fresh mandarins, blood oranges, kumquats, and kiwis while you can find them. Peas, celery root, broccoli, asparagus, artichokes, and sweet onions are tasting excellent right now.

With Easter around the corner, make sure to find your favorite eggs at the market. We’re so thankful our flock is over their winter break, and we have plenty of eggs with gorgeous orange yolks from all the green grass. Many of our local farms keep laying hens so they can feed them all the veggie scraps. Your local chickens are all very spoiled and are going to have delicious and super nutrient-rich eggs, so skip the store and find some locally grown eggs. Pick up some purple cabbage, beets (red and yellow), and spinach to make all-natural dyes for beautiful Easter eggs.

Check with your local butchers and farmers to get locally raised meats for your weeknight meals and Easter dinner. Debbie at Charter Oaks Meats raises pork, beef, and lamb and may have just what you’re looking for at Templeton Market on Saturdays. Ben of Ben’s Meats makes some of the tastiest sausages to have any night of the week or to add to this week’s quiche recipe. If you’re shopping the Tuesday market in Paso Robles, check out our BeeWench Farm booth for some delicious pork or chicken.

Vintage Cheese and Stepladder Creamery have a variety of tasty, locally produced cheeses. The Vreamery has amazing dairy alternatives as well. They usually have samples available at the markets, so pick your favorites to add to this Spring Quiche Recipe.

Ingredients:

½ pound ground pork, bacon, or sausage

1 bunch broccoli, cut into florets (can sub for asparagus)

1 small onion or 1 leek, finely chopped

3 cups chopped fresh mustard greens (or spinach)

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 sheet refrigerated pie crust (or homemade)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°. In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium-high heat until browned. Remove cooked sausage and add broccoli and onion; cook and stir until broccoli is crisp-tender. You might need to add a little olive oil if you didn’t have a lot from the sausage. Stir in greens and garlic; cook and stir 4-5 minutes longer or until greens are wilted.

2. Unroll crust into a 9-in. pie plate, flute edge. Fill with broccoli mixture and sausage. In a small bowl, whisk eggs, milk, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Stir in 1/4 cup cheddar cheese and 1/4 cup Swiss cheese; pour over vegetables. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

3. Bake 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.

4 large eggs

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided 1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese, divided

Note:

If you want to make a vegetarian quiche, just omit the sausage. Use ¼ cup of olive oil at the beginning to cook up the onions and broccoli. Omit the crust for gluten-free options. Quiche tastes delicious even without the crust, or you can make a crust out of potatoes. Just use a bag of frozen hashbrowns and add seasonings and a little olive oil. Spread it out on your pie plate and bake for 20 min at 400 degrees before adding the fillings and baking again.