Chicken, Spinach & Feta Quiche w/ Buttermilk Biscuit Crust

Once the weather turns cooler, we love to have quiche around here.  I've previously posted recipes for veggie quiche and broccoli-bacon quiche, but I often forget to pay attention to what I'm throwing together when I make quiche.  So, I've been trying to be better about making notes so I can post recipes when they turn out particularly well.  I put this together for a dinner with friends.  The quiche recipe turned out wonderfully! It's definitely flavor-filled, with lots of fresh veggies and herbs enhanced by the feta cheese.  It was delicious both hot and cold.  Enjoy!

GF Quiche - A slice of quiche - look at all those colors!

Chicken, Spinach & Feta Quiche w/ Buttermilk Biscuit Crust

Heat oven to 425F.  Get yourself out a pie pan.

I tend to make a full batch of buttermilk biscuits and use half for the crust and just cook the other half as biscuits.  But, if you just want to make the quiche, mix the crust as in the recipe below. I sometimes add a little bit of flaxseed and corn flour to my quiche biscuit crust.

First, prepare the veggie filling:

Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in large saucepan over medium heat.

Add and sauté 3-5 minutes:

½ cup red bell pepper, finely chopped

¼ - 1/3 cup fresh chives, chopped

Just before adding in minced garlic to sautee.  I wanted to give an idea of how I coarsely chop my spinach - it doens't need to be done finely at all.

Add and sauté 1-2 minutes:

1-2 Tbsp garlic, minced

Add and mix in, cooking until spinach has wilted:

1 bag fresh spinach, sliced (bunch the spinach together, and slice through with a knife to coarsely slice)

Set veggies aside to cool and prepare the rest of the quiche.

To ready the crust:

First, make your buttermilk (or just use ¼ cup buttermilk)
In a measuring cup place:

1 ½ tsp lemon juice OR white vinegar

Fill so you have total of:

¼ cup milk (lactose-free works great)

Mix in a bowl:

¼ cup brown rice flour

¼ cup tapioca starch

2 Tbsp cup cornstarch OR corn flour (not cornmeal) for a heartier crust

2 Tbsp cup potato starch

1 Tbsp flaxseed meal (optional, but a nice addition, I find)

1/8 tsp xanthan gum

¾ tsp sugar

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

pinch of baking soda

Add and dice in with a pastry cutter:

2 ½ Tbsp butter

Add and mix with a spoon, just until combined:

¼ cup buttermilk (from above)

Spread biscuit dough as evenly around pan as you can, using spoon. Press biscuit dough gently into pie pan.  If the batter is sticky, put a tiny bit of water on your fingertips to help. (I find it tends to be sticky, but don’t worry about it not being evenly spread – it will rise during baking)

Don't worry about it being perfect. The best part about a buttermilk biscuit crust in quiche is that is is very forgiving since it rises/spreads while cooking! 

Spread on the bottom of the biscuit crust:

¾ cup crumbled feta cheese

On top of cheese spread:

Cooked veggies

Feta topped with sauteed veggies

Sprinkle over veggies:

1 cup cooked chicken, chopped

¼ cup fresh basil, sliced/diced

I find it's best to have the basil mixed up a bit with the chicken, so you don't end up with all the basil on the top of your quiche.

Mix together in a separate bowl:

4-6 eggs (4 cooks faster, but you’ll have a smaller quiche, I prefer 6 myself, especially for this quiche which has a lot of filling)

1/3 - ½ cup milk (lactose free works great)

Salt

Pepper (be generous)

Pour egg mixture carefully and evenly over the top of the fillings.   Pop in the oven!

Bake 10 min at 425F. Lower heat to 350F and cook 20-25 minutes more, until center is set (doesn’t jiggle when you gently shake the pan).

Remove from oven. Let cool 10-15 minutes before cutting. 

Fresh out of the oven!

Great warm or cold!   Enjoy!