The Unlikely Veggie Quiche

I know by now you think I use the "unlikely" thing way too much, but truth is, this recipes got the "unlikely" label from my mom. My mom is young, hip, and fabulous (hi Mom!), but our cooking kind of veers in different directions.
When we get together, often one of us will be cooking while the other eyes the food suspiciously and expresses her reservations on the recipe.
In this case, my mom's reservations were that:
1. you can't make a quiche without eggs
2. she doesn't like broccoli, so she is unlikely to eat anything containing broccoli
3. mushrooms and broccoli don't go together
4. there's no way it's filling enough unless it contains meat or at least lots of cheese

In the end of course she liked the quiche and also how pretty it turned out!

Note: you might be skeptical like my mom, but despite being vegan this quiche is surprisingly filling, thanks to the potatoes and to the high fiber content of the crust and broccoli.

Ingredients:
- extra-virgin olive oil
- 5 cloves of garlic, minced
- sea salt or celtic salt
- black pepper
- 4 oz button mushrooms, sliced
- 8 oz frozen broccoli (I like the 365 Organic from Whole Foods), lightly steamed
- a pinch of dried thyme
- 3-4 medium potatoes, cooked and peeled
- good quality, MSG-free vegetable broth
- 1 whole wheat or gluten-free pastry shell (again, I like the Whole Foods brand)
- 1/2 stick Earth Balance non-dairy buttery spread

Preparation:
- Warm to oven as recommended on the package of the pastry shell.
- Leave a pastry shell on the counter, ready to be filled.
- In a stainless-steel pan, warm 2 Tbsp of the olive oil.
- Add 2 cloves of garlic to the pan, sautée briefly until golden, then add the mushrooms, steer to combine and lower the heat. After about 1 minute, sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper and let them cook, stirring occasionally and adding a Tbsp or two of broth, until they have softened and darkened in color. Transfer to the pastry shell, making sure they are evenly spread on the bottom.
- Using the same pot, warm up 2 more Tbsp of oil and sautée the remaining garlic until golden.
- Add the broccoli, lower the flame, stir gently to coat, then turn off the heat and keep stirring until the oil and garlic has been absorbed by the veggies.
- Transfer the broccoli to the pastry shell, again making sure they are evenly spread.
- In the same pot/pan, warm up 1/2 cup of broth, then turn off the heat. Mash the potatoes and transfer to the pan, stirring gently to combine. Add more broth if needed, until the potatoes are of a nice creamy consistency. Cut up the non-dairy buttery stick and add to the potatoes, stirring until it melts (you might need to place the pan over low heat for a couple of minutes).
- Season the mashed potatoes with salt, black pepper and plenty of ground nutmeg, and then transfer to the pastry shell, taking care to cover the veggies completely.
- Place in the oven for the recommended cooking time (usually about 35-45 min.)
- Optional: before taking the quiche out of the oven, place it then under the broiler for a couple of minutes, to brown the potatoes slightly.

Et voilà! Your quiche is ready! It will serve 4-6 and it's lovely accompanied by a nice salad with a balsamic dressing.

The Unlikely Housewife is not unlikely to cook ;-)

Hey, just because I'm a less-than-domestic goddess it doesn't mean I don't like to cook! I actually LOVE it! (most of the time, at least) I don't like cleaning up afterwards, but that's a totally separate issue.

The thing is, I don't really have time for very long prep and to be honest I get bored quickly, so dedicating hours to one recipe isn't for me. However, I don't like to eat packaged stuff either, and I don't like using the microwave.

There is a healthy medium: I have a list of everyday recipes that can be made from scratch in a reasonable amount of time and a separate list of recipes that require more time (but not insanely long!) and I save for special occasions. Here I'll share recipes from both lists. I hope you like them. And if you do and you want to thank me somehow, you can always offer to come over and clean up my kitchen after I cook! (I'm joking. No, really.)