Quiche/Pizza cross

[skeptic7]

I have a favorite dish that evolved from a yeast pie crust and a spinach pizza. The original pie crust cam from this article https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016715-whole-wheat-yeasted-olive-oil-pastry and the spinach pie filling came from here http://www.cooks.com/recipe/o30bi7x9/italian-spinach-ricotta-pie.html

I changed the pie crust recipe to all whole wheat and I use it for most of my pizzas and for focaccio. I put the crust in a 9inch cast iron pan and let rise until light and fluffy. Then I pour the spinach in the middle of the dough and spread it until its near the edges with about 1/2 inch bare dough at the edges. When I bake it the edges of the pizza rise normally but the center is held down by the weight of the filling so a slice is very pie shaped without the bother of trying to form the pie crust edges. I like this very much especially in hot weather as I can either eat a slice cold or warm it up slightly in the microwave. It makes an easy lunch to carry to work, just take two slices out of the refrigerator and put it in the lunch bag.
This is the pizza crust recipe after adaption
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon potato flour ( optional)
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon yeast, less in hot weather
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/4 cup oil, normally canola
Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup warm water, and stir in 1 cup of flour. Let this sponge sit and ferment until full of bubbles 1/2- 3 hours. Mix the salt, the remaining cup of flour, and the potato flour together. Beat the egg and oil together, and then stir it into the sponge. Mix the flour mixture into the sponge until just combined. Cover the dough and let rise for awhile, at least 15 minutes but I've let it rise until nearly double. Knead the dough until well mixed and bouncy. This recipe doesn't require much kneading -- perhaps 5 minutes. Place in an oiled 9 inch cast iron frying pan. Let the dough rise until light and fluffy.

Ricotta Spinach pie filling
1 tablespoon oil
1 medium minced onion about 1 cup or more
3 cloves garlic
1 16oz frozen spinach
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 eggs beaten
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Heat the oil in a heavy frying pan, then add garlic and onion and cook until the onion is soft and sweet. Add the frozen spinach and cook on low until the spinach is relatively dry and the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat and let cool. Mix the other ingredients in a large bowl and stir until smooth. Pour in the spinach mixture and mix unil the filling looks like green and white marble
Pour the filling into the risen bread dough and then level it out, leaving at least 1/2 inch uncovered at the edges. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 40 minutes or until the top is golden and filling set.
After it has cooled cut into pieces and refrigerate. I cut it into 8 pieces and put them in sandwich boxes so I can just pull a box out of the refrigerator and into a lunch bag.

I like this recipe but thinking about it its more like a low fat quiche on a pizza crust .
However now I am getting a little bored with this. What other sort of fillings could I use with this crust? Would a normal meat pie filling work? I looked at normal quiche recipes for inspiration but most seemed too liquidy. I was wondering if something with more liquid would sink into the crust and prevent it from cooking.

2 eggs

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[BakerAunt]

Hi, Skeptic 7. Your recipe looks good. I'm in a lunch rut, so I've marked it as one that I want to try.

Some ideas for the filling: try substituting chopped broccoli. Perhaps try another kind of cheese? Maybe try adding some ground turkey or some ground beef, or maybe in some pieces of ham. I love red bell pepper, so a little of that would add some additional flavor, as would mushrooms. I've also seen pizzas that use black beans as topping.

You could also explore adding some spices. When I make omelets, I often use the Penzey's Forward seasoning (no salt). I've also used their southwest seasoning. It depends on what flavors you enjoy.

If you worry that the filling might be too liquidy, you could par-bake the crust at a higher temperature for about 5-10 minutes, then add the topping.

Let us know what variations you try, and when I get around to trying your recipe, I'll post my results.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 8 months ago by BakerAunt.

[chocomouse]

This recipe for a Tomato Tart is one of my most favorites; you could play around with it. You might have to reduce the amount a bit. I don't know what depth of filling you are looking for. I don't know where I got the recipe, but think it was in a newspaper about 2005.

1 9 inch pie crust (I sometimes replace with a tortilla shell; less fat, but different texture)
6 tomatoes, cut in wedges (I use more than 6, use a meaty, plum/paste tomato; less watery)
1/2 C mushrooms, sliced
1/2 C onion, chopped
1 Tbls butter/margarine
1/2 C mayonnaise
3/4 C shredded Parmesan
1 C shredded mozarella
1 clove garlic, mashed
1/4 C snipped basil
1 Tbls parsley

Preheat oven to 350. Bake pie crust 15 minutes.
Saute onion and mushrooms in margarine.
Mix cheeses, mayo, garlic, basil. Stir in onion mix.
Put tomatoes in crust, skin side down. Spoon cheese mix over tomatoes. Sprinkle parsley on top.
Bake 30 minutes.

I'm going to try this using your recipe for the pizza/pie crust -- if my tomatoes ever ripen.

[Mike Nolan]

I often use a layer of chopped spinach and ricotta cheese in a stuffed pizza or a lasagna. I haven't made either one in a while, though, mostly because either recipe makes a LOT of high-carb food.

[skeptic7]

Thanks! This is the sort of help I needed. There are surprisingly a couple different recipes for yeast based pie crusts. King Arthur Flour used one for their Italian Easter Pie which was eggs and cheese and ham. I ran into another one decades ago when I first looked into low fat pie crusts. This was low fat but more like having apple pie filling beteen two slices of bread. This didn't appeal to me then, but it might appeal more now.
I hope to try some of your kind suggestions soon.

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