Basil pesto and sun dried tomato quiche

This delicious basil pesto and sun dried tomato quiche is perfect for a fancy breakfast, or even something you make and eat from all week long all by yourself!

We chose to use sun dried tomatoes which avoids creating those lightly soggy areas when using fresh ones. They also have a nice sweetness that adds that little extra something to this easy-to-do dish.

We hope you give this recipe a go since it also works well for mini quiches and those little tartlets made with filo pastry (so you can skip the part about the cooking the crust). A standard sized, ready made pastry will work well too.

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Basil pesto and sun dried tomato quiche – serves 6

For crust:

• 1 cup Tipo 00 flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup Butter or shortening
• 2 – 5 tablespoons cold water

For filling:

• 4 large eggs
• 2 large egg whites
• ¾ cup milk
• ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
• ¼ cup Pasta Nostra USA, Pesto alla Genovese
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon Freshly ground pepper
• 2 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped
• ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• ⅓ cup sun dried tomatoes, roughly chopped

To make the crust:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Put flour and salt into a mixing bowl.Add the butter. Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour.
3. Add only enough water to help it hold together. Pieces of dough are about pea size. Roll out on flat surface, lightly dusted with flour, into a 12-inch circle
4. Fit it into a 9-inch pie plate (or a tart pan). Trim the crust so it overhangs the plate edge by about 1 inch all the way around, then tuck the edges under at the plate edge and crimp with your fingers or a fork.
5. Prick the bottom of the crust all over with a fork at 1/2-inch intervals, then line the crust with foil or parchment paper. Fill with dry beans, uncooked rice, or pie weights, ensuring that the beans or weights are all the way up against the edges of the pan.
6. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the lining and weights. If the crust has puffed up in spots, gently press it back down with a fork. Bake, uncovered, for 10-15 additional minutes, until the bottom of the crust is lightly golden. Remove from oven and set aside.

To make the quiche:

1. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Meanwhile, place the sun dried tomatoes in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Let sit 5 minutes to rehydrate, the drain and pat dry.
2. In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, egg whites, milk, Greek yogurt, basil pesto, salt, and pepper. Then, stir in the spinach, Parmesan, and sun dried tomatoes.
3. With the pie plate still on the baking sheet, carefully pour the filling into the pre-baked crust.
4. Bake until the quiche is puffed and the center is set but still a little jiggly, 40 to 50 minutes.
5. If the crust starts to brown too quickly as the quiche bakes, wrap the edges of the pan with foil to protect it. Let quiche cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Slice and serve warm or at room temperature.