Sweet Potato Crusted Quiche with Asparagus, Cherry Tomatoes and Herbed Ricotta

This quiche came out of a failed first attempt at perfection.  Those of you with an older sibling have probably used that line before.  But really, all chefs know that some of the best discoveries come out of misread instructions, innovative replacements for missing ingredients and failed first attempts. One of the things I like the most about cooking (as opposed to baking, where it’s a bit more difficult) is the freedom to tweak and ad lib recipes or to create new ones with any strange combination of ingredients you might have in the fridge.  The thing is, I generally like to do that under relaxed circumstances.  This sweet potato quiche was created under much the opposite.

What do I mean by that?  Well, imagine you’re hosting brunch for nine the next morning.  You’ve already had to remake the dough for the cinnamon rolls once because the first time it didn’t rise, you’re not really sure if the granola is going to harden and get crunchy, and the savory dish you had planned (which you specifically selected because you’ve very successfully made the recipe multiple times in the past and wanted one menu item that was tried and true) has come out looking moldy and slightly overcooked.  I’m not quite sure what went wrong with the quinoa crusted quiche.  I think that perhaps I had time-and-a-halved my own recipe when I made it in the past to accommodate my giant pie pan, but I couldn’t remember whether this was the case so just followed the recipe as listed.  Regardless, the crust was too small causing the eggs to flow over it and the fresh pesto I bought because Trader Joe’s was out of my go-to made the whole dish looked like a failed attempt to dye the river green for St. Patrick’s Day.  I figured it might still taste good (and actually, it really wasn’t bad), but I wasn’t willing to serve it to guests as the only savory option.  Having spent more than enough time in the kitchen, I went to bed and opted to figure it out in the morning.

When I got up, I did a quick inventory of the kitchen and decided I’d do something fairly similar to the quinoa quiche, but with a sweet potato crust.  I hand grated two sweet potatoes and squeezed it to remove the juice (which I drank). Then I tossed it in coconut oil, because I like how that tastes in this recipe. Wanting the crust to hold together, I threw in an egg and a couple tablespoons of almond flour.  Because I’d used most of the goat cheese for the first quiche, I blended the remaining goat cheese with some leftover ricotta I had in my fridge.  Wanting the herbed flavor but without the green hue, I mixed in a couple spoonfuls of this Tastefully Simple Dried Tomato & Garlic Pesto Mix we were given for Christmas.  I somehow had this complete and in the oven in time to make it to my 9:00 am spin class, although I had to sit in the front because all the rest of the bikes were taken.  So essentially what I’m saying is thanks to this quiche, I couldn’t slack off at the gym.  The result of this whole debacle was a breakfast dish I really enjoyed, and will likely make again!  Oh, and evidence that while you don’t see the photos to prove it, not all goes smoothly in the Messy Kitchen.

Sweet Potato Crusted Quiche with Asparagus, Cherry Tomatoes and Herbed Ricotta

A Messy Kitchen original

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds sweet potato (2 fairly large sweet potatoes), grated
• 1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 2 tbsp almond flour
• 9 eggs, divided
• 8 oz asparagus, chopped (reserve 5 pieces to garnish)
• 3 oz goat cheese
• 6 oz low-fat ricotta
• 1/4 cup light coconut milk
• 3/4 cup cherry tomato, sliced
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1-2 Tbsps Tastefully Simple Dried Tomato & Garlic Pesto Mix, or a combination of spices (garlic powder, basil, oregano, etc).

How-t0:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place grated sweet potatoes in a cheese cloth or clean kitchen tour and squeeze out the moisture.
3. In a medium bowl, mix grated sweet potato and coconut oil.  Stir in one egg and the almond flour.  Add salt and pepper.
4. Spray a 9″ springform pan with cooking spray and line bottom with parchment paper.  Press the sweet potato mixture into the bottom and sides of the pan, pressing upwards to form a tall crust.  Bake for 30 minutes and turn the oven down to 350.
5. Meanwhile, combine eggs and coconut milk in the bowl you used for the sweet potato.  Stir in asparagus, tomatoes, salt and pepper.
6. In a separate small bowl, stir together goat cheese, ricotta and spice blend.  Spoon dollops into the egg mix.
7. Transfer the egg mix into the prepared crust.  Garnish with reserved asparagus and a cherry tomato!
8. Bake for 30 minutes, or until set.

Serves 6-8

Johanna