Roasted Pumpkin & Spinach Quiche

I'm going to post a recipe for quiche today. I am not someone who normally eats quiche, as I often find them either too eggy, too watery or tasteless. The recipe I am posting below is out of a cook book titled:- Homestyle Vegetarian. I have however, adjusted the recipe as it needed some tweaking. I was originally going to type up my version, and email it to my sister, but then I thought, I may as well share it everyone :o)

I have made this quiche when we have had people over for dinner, and the comments have always been positive :o) I usually serve it either with salad or steamed vegies, and always with a dollop of my own homemade tomato and chilli relish.

Roast Pumpkin & Spinach Quiche

Ingredients:-

500g butternut pumpkin
1 red onion, cut into small wedges
2 tablespoons of olive oil **
4 eggs
125 ml thickened cream
125 ml milk
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped coriander
1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard
6 sheets filo pastry **
50g English spinach, blanched
1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
Optional - salt, pepper, chilli, cayenne
** For Australian readers:- the filo pastry from the refrigerated section of the supermarket is much easier to work with, compared to the frozen version.

Method:-

1. Preheat the oven to 190C. Slice the pumpkin into 1 cm pieces. Place the pumpkin, onion and olive oil in a roasting pan. Roast for 1 hour, or until lightly golden and cooked. ** I have also used light olive oil spray instead of actual olive oil, on both the pan and veg, and they have cooked with the same results. I have also sprinkled the veg with cayenne pepper or at other times, cracked black pepper or chilli - go with what suits! It's fine without these extras :o)

2. Whisk together the eggs, cream, milk, herbs and mustard. Season with salt and freshly cracked pepper - to suit your taste preferences.

3. Grease a ovenproof flan or tart dish measuring 22 cm across the base. Brush each sheet of filo pastry with olive oil and then line the dish with the six sheets. Fold the pastry sides down, tucking them into the dish to form a crust.

4. Arrange the roasted vegetables and the blanched spinach over the base. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables and sprinkle the top with parmesan.

5. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the filling is golden brown and set.

The photo is taken from the cookbook:- Homestyle Vegetarian, Murdoch Books 2008.