Broccoli Quiche for One

Just like this little meal can be breakfast, lunch, or dinner, it’s also simple and fancy at the same time! You can use up scraps, or you can invest in posh ingredients and celebrate yourself, whatever makes you happy.

For the Crust:

6 TBLSP all-purpose flour

2 ½ TBLSP vegan butter

Ice water (or half vodka, half ice water)

For the Filling:

1 teaspoon olive oil

½ a carrot, diced small

3 broccoli florets, chopped

1 leaf kale (or a small handful of spinach leaves)

1 green onion, diced

1 clove garlic, 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

Make the Crust:

1. Cut the butter and flour together with a pastry knife or a fork. Keep at it until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
2. Add 1 TBLSP of ice water (or part ice water, part vodka). Stir or mix with a wooden spoon. The dough should clump together. If it doesn’t, add a little more ice water. You don’t want to handle the dough much, though, especially not with your warm hands. If you have cold hands, you can use them more. But those of us still among the living shouldn’t touch much. If it’s a hot day, refrigerate the dough for 10 minutes before going on to the next step.
3. Press the dough into a disk and, on a lightly floured surface, roll it with a rolling pin into a circle until it’s about 1-inch larger than the pie plate.
4. Center the crust over the pie plate and push it gently into the corners.
5. Flute the edges by pushing against the outer edge of the crust with your thumb from the outside and with your thumb and forefinger of the other hand from the inside (or vice versa). Make your way all the way around the edge. Poke some holes in the bottom with the tines of a fork.
6. Let the crust rest in the refrigerator for ½ hour to 1 hour to let the glutens form.

Make the Filling (while the dough is resting in the fridge):

1. In a small skillet, warm the olive oil over medium heat and add carrot, broccoli, kale, and green onion. Sauté, stirring regularly, for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook until warmed through, about another 2 minutes. Turn off the heat.
2. In a blender or food processor, blend the tofu, mustard, lemon juice, tahini, nutritional yeast, turmeric, salt, and pepper until very smooth.
3. Stir the tofu mixture into the cooling sautéed vegetables.

Assemble the Quiche:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. 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.
3. Bake for 30-40 minutes.
4. Let it cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. Serve it at room temperature, or slightly warm.

Variations:

• The ingredients list for this one is almost infinitely variable. Instead of the carrots, broccoli, and kale, you could use cauliflower, turnip, celeriac, spinach, green beans, asparagus, cannellini beans, mushrooms—just about anything you can think of!