Vegetable Quiche (DF)

TO MAKE THE QUICHE:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place a prepared unbaked pie crust (see recipe below) in an un-greased pie plate. Use a fork to poke a few holes in the bottom of the crust, and "blind" bake it for 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add onions, chopped red peppers, and asparagus, and saute for 5 minutes, or until the onions are translucent and the asparagus is cooked. Remove from heat.

In a separate large bowl, whisk together eggs, flour, baking powder, rice or almond milk, salt, paprika, thyme, chipotle powder, and black pepper. Stir in the sauteed vegetables and fresh spinach, and stir until well combined.

Pour the egg and vegetable mixture into the partially-baked pie crust, and use a spoon to even out the top. Place in oven and cook for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Quiche will rise while baking, but should settle back down once you remove it from the oven. Remove from the oven and allow the quiche to set for at least 5 minutes. Then slice and serve immediately.

TO MAKE THE DAIRY-FREE PIE CRUST:

Combine salt and flour in a bowl. Cut shortening into the salt and flour mixture with a pastry cutter or fork until it is well-combined. Add water, then stir with spoon until mixture clings together in a ball. Dough may be slightly moist. If dough is too dry or moist add additional water or flour as needed. Don’t over mix. You should see thin swirls of shortening throughout the dough. Lightly dust your rolling surface with flour, and roll the dough out as desired. To transfer the crust from the rolling surface to the pie pan, fold the crust in half twice. Lift and unfold crust over pie pan.