Swiss Chard Quiche

Our spinach season is almost over!  It's been a good one for us (all that rain in May and June, you know) but it had to end sometime.  With this hot sun, comes the end of spinach season until September.  But you spinach lovers out there, don't despair.  Spinach has a close relative that is able to take the heat all summer long:  swiss chard.

Any recipe that uses cooked spinach can also use cooked chard.  I dare say I even like cooked chard better than spinach.  And the colorful stems add a fun crunch.  Here's an easy recipe for a chard quiche adapated from Vegetarian Times. It uses both chard and chevre (goat cheese) which I think is a perfect pairing.

This recipe uses sliced potatoes for the "crust."  You could do it this way, or adapt the recipe and bake in a basic pie crust.  Because, unfortunately, we are not growing potatoes this year!  We had a horrible problem with Colorado Potato Beetles last year, and rather than trying to battle them, we decided to try and starve them out for a year or two.  Our population is, as expected, down this year--though we are still hand-picking them off their second favorite food--eggplant.

We will hopefully be able to get some organic potatoes in the market this year from a nearby farm.  Because, as we've all learned together over the past few years, fresh organic potatoes really are a different beast than what you get on the supermarket shelf.  But go ahead and grab some for this fun recipe:

SWISS CHARD QUICHE

• 5 small red-skinned or Yukon gold potatoes (about 3/4 lb), cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1 bunch Swiss chard, leaves torn, stems cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 11 cups)
• 1 Tbps minced garlic
• 4 oz goat cheese
• 1 cup low-fat milk
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Bring medium pot of water to a boil, and cook potato slices 5 to 10 minutes, or until just tender when pierced with a fork.

Meanwhile, heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add chard and cook 4 minutes, or until wilted, stirring often. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more, or until fragrant. Remove from heat, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Coat 9x9-inch pan with cooking spray. Fill pan with layer of potatoes. Top with chard. Sprinkle with cheese.
Whisk together milk, eggs and salt in medium bowl. Pour over quiche. Cover with foil. Bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until tip of knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes, then slice into squares, and serve.