Crustless Spinach Quiche

Colour your plate green

“Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelt as good as bacon,” said Doug Larson, the American cartoonist. However, it is important to know how good green leafy vegetables are for you. Some of the most nutritious greens are swiss chard, collard greens, spinach, mustard greens, rocket or arugula, varieties of lettuce (iceberg being the least nutritious), broccoli, cabbage, native Indian greens — methi, varieties of amaranthus, bathua and other vegetables like cauliflower, beet greens, turnip greens and radish greens. Green leafy vegetables are very low in calories. As they are rich in fibre, they fight frequent hunger pangs and help with weight loss. Fibre lowers one’s cholesterol and regulates the spikes in blood sugar post meals. Research shows that a serving of green leafy vegetables helps reduce the risk of a coronary heart disease by 23 per cent. Research published in the British Medical Journal also states that eating more green leafy vegetables can considerably reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Antioxidants found in dark green leafy vegetables protect one from certain types of breast, skin, lung and stomach cancer. Vegetables belonging to the cruciferous family (eg: cabbage, mustard, turnip)have this life-saving quality, in particular. cooking with greens lTossing cooked and separated brown rice with greens and garlic to make an Asian style fried rice lPasta with sautéed greens and a white sauce, baked to make a casserole lCooked greens with eggs, milk and cheese to make a quiche Mediterranean salad like Tabbouleh with lots of whole parsley and mint lUsing leaves as a wrap instead of a tortilla or roti that can be filled with a variety of ingredients. Crustless Spinach Quiche Ingredients 1 tsp olive oill3 cups of roughly chopped spinach, including tender stalks 1 medium onion, slicedl1 clove garlic, finely chopped 3 medium sized eggs 3/4 cup milk  1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs 1/2 cup crumbled or grated cheese or paneer 1/2 tsp salt l3/4 tsp ground pepper Handful of fresh herbs, finely chopped or 1 tbsp dried herbs (oregano and thyme) Method Preheat oven at 180 °C. Grease a 6” pie dish or a baking tin lIn a pan, heat olive oil. Add the sliced onions and garlic, lightly saute for 3-4 minutes on medium flame, until onions are softlAdd the spinach and saute for a minute until just wiltedlIn a bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, salt, pepper, herbs well and add the crumbled cheese. Transfer the spinach mix from the pan into the bowl and mix with a fork.lPour into the greased pie dish. Top with bread crumbs, more freshly ground black pepper and dried herbs and bake for 20-25 minutes until a knife comes out clean.