Mother’s Day Brunch: Spinach and Gruyère Quiche

In my neck of the woods, restaurants tend to get absurdly busy over Mother’s Day weekend. There’s nothing very special about waiting for the better part of an hour only to be seated in a crowded dining room teeming with dozens of noisy strangers and more than a few unruly members of the under-12 set. Come Mother’s Day, I prefer to cook for my mom at my house, where we can chat and sip coffee and linger as long as we’d like in the quiet of my living room.

This weekend I decided to have my mom over for a celebratory brunch. On the menu were spinach and Gruyère quiche, breakfast potatoes, mixed berries, and Poinsettias. The quiche is rich, delicious, and easy to make. It’s one of my go-to breakfast/brunch recipes whenever I have company.

Ingredients

1 pie crust (I cheated and used a store-bought one, but you could certainly make your own if you’re feeling extra ambitious)
1 tablespoon of butter
2 shallots, sliced
12 ounce package of frozen spinach
1 1/4 cups grated Gruyère
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups of heavy cream
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
Dash of nutmet
Dash of cayenne

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Place the pie crust in a pie dish and form to the sides. Cut the excess from around the rim and crimp the edges. Poke holes all over the crust with a fork.
Place the pie dish on a baking sheet and bake the crust for about 10 minutes, until it just begins to brown.
Remove the pie crust from the oven and set it aside. Reduce the oven to 325°.
Wring any water out of the spinach using a mesh strainer and/or a few paper towels.
Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots, season lightly with salt and pepper, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, heavy cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne.
Spread the shallots over the bottom of the pie crust.
Sprinkle the Gruyère over the shallots.
Break up the spinach and spread it on top of the cheese.
Pour the egg mixture over the spinach and use the whisk to pat down any lumps.
Bake at 325°F for 50 to 60 minutes (it may take more or less time depending on your oven). Stick a toothpick or fork in the center of the quiche to check for doneness—it should be set, like custard, and not gooey.

To go with the quiche, I made some breakfast potatoes (diced potatoes cooked in olive oil with a diced onion, salt, pepper, oregano, and a dash of cayenne):

In a futile attempt to counter the effects of the eggs, cheese, and heavy cream in the quiche, I also threw together some raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries:

And of course, no Mother’s Day brunch would be complete without a girly drink. I went with Poinsettias (champagne with cranberry juice and triple sec—which I prefer to Mimosas).