Gluten Free Low G.I. Quiche!

Blanched Almond Flour! I finally ordered some and this is my first recipe with it. It has a MUCH lower glycemic index than regular flour (71), AND rice flour (98).... what is the glycemic index? LESS THAN ONE. Whoohoo! And guess what? So easy... no mixing a million different flours to make a GF flour. Ahhh, simplicity. Plus all those other flours have tons of carbs. Almond flour has 19.44 g carbs for 100g BUT has 10.4 g fiber. It's filled with protein, fiber, antioxidants, and almost no one is allergic. Yeehaw!

I made this beautiful quiche today, inspired by the lovely "Savory Pie Crust" on page 81 of Elana's new fantastic Almond Flour GF cookbook!! Of course, being the southern (and pro-pastured saturated animal fat person) that I am, I substituted (organic and pastured) bacon grease for the oil (if this freaks you out and/or you are my Mother, click this LINK - or here is good too). And I also just used regular onions, since I was out of scallions. Wow, is this crust amazing.

This quiche has 25 ECC for the whole pie, so figure it out how you slice it... 3.17 ECC for each slice if you cut it in 8ths.

Almond Flour Savory Crust
adapted from the Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook by Elana Amsterdam (buy it!!)

1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour (any kind)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon minced onions, shallots, or scallions
4 Tablespoons bacon grease (from organic & pastured animals), butter, or coconut oil
+ a little extra for greasing a 9 inch tart pan.
1 tablespoon water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt in a small saucepan on very low heat your bacon grease, butter, or coconut oil (if needed) until just melted, then remove from stove top.
In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, salt, onions, and baking soda. Add the grease and water and mix together. Press the dough into a greased 9-inch tart pan.
Bake for 7 - 10 minutes until golden brown. Remove and let cool.


Now, for the filling!! As always, I cook with a bit of this and a bit of that. I don't want to have to go out for all kinds of ingredients... I want to use what I have. So for this recipe, you can use what you've got on hand. I used some ingredients I had in my freezer from my summer vegetable CSA, and from my fridge: eggplant, swiss chard, tomatoes, and sliced organic ham. You can use anything you like. Just take a minute and ask yourself if all these ingredients will go together first. :) (experiment, you can do it!)

2 Tablespoons of butter, lard, or coconut oil (possibly will need more)
6 eggs (organic! fresh pastured if you can!)
2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
a small onion or 1/2 of a medium onion, diced
1/4 of a green pepper
1/2 cup each of three different veggies. Tomatoes highly recommended. Suggestions: broccoli, spinach, swiss chard, eggplant, zucchini, squash, anything you like!
1/2 cup of diced cooked meat (ham/chicken/bacon/turkey/anything)
2 ounces of goat cheese (or feta, or parmesan, or anything that sounds good)
2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
1/4 cup milk. I used some cultured organic milk (great use for it) but you can sub cream, or for dairy free, coconut milk.
1/2 - 3/4 cup grated cheese. I used some raw pastured NZ cheddar cheese from TJ's
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 - 1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground

Sauté the onions and garlic in the lard/oil/butter in a skillet over medium heat until translucent. Add green peppers, and rest of vegetables. Cook until tender. You may need to add a little more grease/oil to sauté if mixture seems too dry.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. (I put this in the middle to save energy- will take a while to sauté.)
In a medium sized bowl, beat eggs with a whisk. Add goat cheese and break into chunks with whisk or fork. Add milk, meat, parsley, salt, & pepper. Mix well, then add sauteed veggies. Stir to blend, then add to crust. Sprinkle grated cheese on top and bake for 25 - 35 minutes until cooked. You don't want to cook it too much... be careful not to dry it out.
Slice like a pie.. but loosen the crust from the sides with a knife before using a spatula to remove slice.