Pesto Quiche with Potato Crust

This week my sharebox came with a huge bag of enormous and beautiful basil leaves, so heady and fragrant. Of course, I’m making pesto, but I’m not using it on pasta; I’m making a quiche with a potato crust.

Ingredients

1 large russet potato

1 medium size tomato (optional)

3-4 Cups loosely packed basil leaves, reserving a few perfect leaves for a garnish

2 cloves garlic

2 Tbsp sunflower kernels or pine nuts

3/4 Cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp olive oil

3 or 4 large eggs

¾ Cup skim milk or evaporated skim milk

salt and pepper

Nonstick cooking spray

Procedure

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Spray a pie pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. Using a mandoline, thinly slice the potato. Starting in the center of the pan, place the slices in an overlapping spiral until you have covered the bottom and sides. Then place any remaining potato slices in a bowl of cold water to prevent browning. Spray the potato crust with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

In the meantime, make the pesto. Place the garlic and seeds or nuts into the food processor. Pulse until you have a coarse mixture. Add ¼ Cup of the cheese. Pulse until combined. Add the basil leaves and process, adding oil through the top opening until you have a homogenous and thick, spreadable paste. You’ll notice I’m using less oil for this pesto than if I were making it as a pasta sauce.

Whisk together the eggs and milk and season with salt and pepper.

Slice the tomato.

When the half-baked potato crust comes out of the oven, sprinkle the remaining ½ Cup of Parmesan cheese over the bottom. Then carefully spoon the pesto over the cheese, and spread into an even layer with a spatula. Place the tomato slices on top, and season with salt and pepper. Then drain and pat dry the reserved potato slices and place on top of the tomato layer. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in the egg and milk mixture. Finally, place a few perfect basil leaves on top and press down gently to submerge.

Bake again at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 to 40 minutes. 

Other options:

• Instead of whole eggs, use the equivalent volume in egg whites or remove all but one of the yolks.

• Instead of the potato crust or a pastry crust, use tortillas to line the pie pan; no need to prebake.

• Instead of pesto, use tapenade

Gazpacho

I always look forward to the mid-summer when the ingredients for gazpacho are at their peak. This is also the easiest soup I know how to cook—if you want to call chopping, stirring, and refrigerating, "cooking." This is a perfect light supper for hot days.

Ingredients

4 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped

1 medium yellow or red onion, peeled, and rough chopped

1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chunked

1 medium red bell pepper, seeded the rough chopped

1 clove garlic

1-1/2 Cups liquid: you can use broth, tea, tomato juice

¼ Cup olive oil

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp sugar (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

Procedure

Process the vegetables one-at-a-time for a deep red color to the soup. If you process them together the soup will turn out a muddy pink color.

Place the prepared tomatoes into your food processor and puree. Remove to a large bowl. Next process the onion, then add it to the tomatoes. Repeat with the cucumber, the red bell pepper, and garlic. Stir the pureed vegetables to blend and add the olive oil, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce. Then add the liquid until you have the consistency you want. Season with sugar, salt, and pepper to taste. Serve chilled with croutons or bread for dipping.

Potato and Cabbage Parcels with Herbed Béchamel Sauce

When it comes to vegetables, it doesn’t get more humble than potatoes and cabbage. Both arrived in my CSA share box this week. Instead of the expected sides like potato salad or cole slaw, I wanted to give these two a slightly more substantial role. This is like a stuffed cabbage casserole or pigs in blankets, but lighter.

This recipe has several non linear steps and makes use of tandem cooking.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Ingredients

6-8 fist-sized red skinned potatoes, scrubbed and pricked with a fork

1 medium head of cabbage

1-1/2 Cups diced turkey kielbasa, about half of a standard 14-ounce ring. (You could also use ham or another cooked sausage)

3-4 green onions

1 clove garlic or garlic scape

chives

1 Cup canned evaporated skim milk

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp flour

1-2 Tbsp grape seed or olive oil

¼ Cup grated parmesan cheese

nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

chopped fresh dill and basil leaves

Procedure

For the béchamel, part 1:

Warm the evaporated skim milk over low heat and steep half of the fresh dill, one green onion, and some basil leaves in it. Remove from heat and set aside for at least 15 minutes.

For the cabbage leaf wrappers, part 1:

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Have a colander nearby.

For the filling, part 1:

Partially cook the potatoes in the microwave. In batches of 4, cook them for half the amount of time your oven specifies for baked potatoes. When you can pierce them with a fork, they are ready. While the potatoes are cooking, chop the onion, garlic, chives, and Kielbasa.

For the béchamel, part 2:

Strain the herbs from the heated milk. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and flour, stirring until you have a roux, about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the milk until you have incorporated all the roux. Return to the heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 25 minutes more, then add the parmesan cheese, nutmeg, the remaining dill, and salt and pepper to taste.

For the cabbage leaf wrappers, part 2:

When the large pot of water is boiling, stick a large meat fork into the core end of the cabbage, cut around the base with a knife, and dunk it into the water for about 5 minutes. As each layer cooks, remove the whole pliable leaves and place them in the awaiting colander, then replace the cabbage into the water. Repeat this until you have removed all the large leaves. Then, remove the core, and chop the rest of the cabbage to add to the filling. You may want to remove the toughest part of the stem from each leaf.

For the filling, part 2:

Heat the oil in a large skillet. When hot, add the onion, garlic and chives. As the onion softens, chop the partially cooked potatoes into bit size pieces. Add the potatoes, including the skin, to the skillet. Cook in a layer without stirring for at least five minutes to allow the potatoes to brown, then add the Kielbasa and chopped cabbage, stir and reduce the heat to low.

Assembling the parcels: Take each leaf and fill it with 2-3 Tbsp of the potato mixture. Roll into a tight bundle and place, seam side down, in a baking dish. Repeat until you have used all the leaves and filling, tucking them snugly into the dish.

Pour the béchamel sauce over the prepared parcels. Cover the dish and bake for about 30 minutes. Serve 2 parcels with sauce per person.

Note: If you have leftover filling, it is wonderful with a fried egg and a dollop of sour cream on the side.