Q Stands for Quiche

“What does the Q stand for?” is at the top of my FAQ about Q. Especially since I work in a public place, people either see the tattoo on my arm or see my nametag. Yes, it’s my legal name. No, it doesn’t stand for anything, hence no period after the letter. Read here and here for details.

Q today stands for quiche. More than a year ago a schoolmate of mine asked if I had made quiche with kale. I had not, and now I have. While I wanted to recreate Ownie Mom’s spinach-red pepper torte, a layered, super-garlicky kale quiche made for some tasty noms.

Kale Quiche

Crust:

1 1/2 cup walnuts

1/4 cup brown rice flour or sticky rice flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

3-4 tablespoons water

Filling:

12.3 ounces silken tofu

3 cloves garlic

cumin, mustard, gomasio, cayenne to taste

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

3 tablespoons arrowroot starch

6 cups raw kale, chopped as small as you can handle

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9-inch pie plate and set aside.  On a piece of foil or in a small pan, toast the walnuts in the preheating oven until fragrant.

In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal and brown rice flour. In a food processor or blender, blitz the toasted walnuts until powdery (don’t make nut butter!). Add the toasted walnut flour to the cornmeal mixture and stir. Add water until the crust forms pecan-sized lumps. Press into and up the sides of the pan and set aside.

In the food processor, blend tofu, garlic, spices, vinegar, and arrowroot until uniformly combined. Place the kale in the same large bowl in which you mixed the crust. Add the tofu mixture to the kale and mix well, evenly coating the kale. Transfer the kale filling to the crust and press in (it will mound way above the edge of the plate; this is fine). Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and press down the kale. Bake for another ten minutes. Press down kale again. Bake for final ten minutes (40 minutes total). 

Remove from the oven and let cool before slicing (or enjoy a messy piece—it’s what’s on the inside that counts!).

I consider 1/4 quiche a serving because it’s supposed to be an “everything in the meal” dish. Definitely cut it with a serrated knife or else each slice will be a mangled mess.