Quinoa-Crusted Quiche for One

This little gem of a breakfast doesn't take much longer than homemade waffles, but it feels elegant and fancy, like brunch! So make a pot of coffee and enjoy it over the Sunday paper. It looks huge in the photos, but I have a little quiche form that’s about five-inches long and three wide or so. It makes me feel entirely bourgeois to eat right out of the serving dish…

For the Crust:

1 ½ TBLSP ground flax seed

1 ½ TBLSP water

½ cup cooked and cooled quinoa

½ TBLSP melted coconut oil

2 teaspoons nutritional yeast

Dash of salt

For the Filling:

1 teaspoon coconut oil

1 TBLSP onion, diced

½ a carrot, diced small

1 mushroom, diced

3 artichoke (cooked) heart quarters, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 TBLSP cilantro, minced

3 ounces firm tofu, drained

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

Juice of 1 lemon wedge

2 teaspoons tahini

2 teaspoons nutritional yeast

Dash of turmeric

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease the inside of a ramekin or small tart pan with coconut oil.

To Make the Crust:

1. Combine the flax and water in a small bowl, and set it aside to thicken.
2. Combine the quinoa, nutritional yeast and salt in a small bowl. Add the coconut oil and the flax glop and mix well.
3. Press the crust into the prepared tart pan and bake for 15 minutes, until lightly golden and dry. 

     Turn the oven temperature down to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

To Make the Filling (while the crust is baking):

1.  In a small skillet, warm the coconut oil over medium heat and add onions, carrot, and mushroom. Sauté, stirring regularly, for about 5 minutes. Add the artichoke hearts and garlic, and cook until warmed through, about another 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, and add the cilantro.
2. In a blender or food processor, blend the tofu, mustard, lemon juice, tahini, nutritional yeast, turmeric, and salt and pepper until very smooth. Stir them into the cooling sautéed vegetables.

Assemble the Quiche:

1. Spread the filling over the prepared and baked crust, making the top nice and smooth. There will be lumps from the veggies. Smooth is a relative term.
2.  Bake for 30-40 minutes.
3. Let it cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. Serve it at room temperature, or slightly warm.

Other veggies that are nice in the filling:

• Fennel, asparagus, peas
• Jerusalem artichoke, zucchini, green onion
• Kidney beans, olives, spinach
• Kale, parsnip, beet
• Chard, sweet potato, mushroom

This dish would also make a perfectly lovely lunch or dinner. There’s something elegant about it, so maybe flowers on the table? Use the good silverware? A cloth napkin? A nice glass of wine? Oh, wait, I know. Hors d’oeuvres while you wait for it to cool. Some olives, cashew cheese, and a cracker with a little glass of wine sounds pretty good.