Asparagus and Mushroom Quiche with a Brown Rice Crust

Recipe courtesy of:
Fatfree Vegan Kitchen

Asparagus and Mushroom Quiche with a Brown Rice Crust

Brown rice makes a crispy, chewy crust that makes this quiche more satisfying without adding refined flours and fat.

One 12-ounce package firm or extra-firm silken tofu*
1/4 cup plain soy milk
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon tahini
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
3/4 teaspoons salt

2 cups cooked brown rice
1 tablespoon vegan parmesan (optional)
freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 bunch asparagus (about 12 ounces)
1/4 cup shallots, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 heaping cup (about 4 ounces) sliced mushrooms
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
olive oil spray

Preheat oven to 350. Put first 8 ingredients (tofu through salt) into blender. Puree until completely smooth, stirring a couple of times between blending.

Mix rice with 3 tablespoons of the tofu mixture and the vegan parmesan (optional). Add freshly ground black pepper to taste. Spray a pie pan with cooking spray or canola oil, and press the rice into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven.

Snap the tough ends off the asparagus and discard. Cut off the top 3 inches and set aside. Chop the remaining stalks into 1/2-inch pieces.

Spray a medium non-stick saucepan with olive oil and heat. Add the shallots and cook for about 1 minute. Add the garlic, asparagus, and two tablespoons water. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, bell pepper, and 2 more tablespoons water. Cover and cook 2 more minutes. Remove cover, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, and cook, stirring, for a minute or two until most liquid has evaporated. Separate out the asparagus tips from the rest of the vegetables. (NOTE: Next time I will not pre-cook the asparagus tips; they should cook well enough in the oven.)

Spread the vegetables (excluding the asparagus tips) on top of the rice crust. Pour the remaining tofu mixture over the vegetables (use a flexible spatula to get it all out of the blender), stirring lightly to distribute it through the vegetables. Arrange the asparagus tips over the top and spray lightly with olive oil.

Bake for 60 minutes. Let cool for about 10 minutes before cutting (this helps make the quiche slice more cleanly, but if you don't care about that, go ahead and dig in!)

Serves 4. Per serving: 223 Calories (kcal); 5g Total Fat; (18% calories from fat); 12g Protein; 34g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 441mg Sodium; 4g Fiber. Weight Watchers Core (omit tahini)/4 Flex Points.

*Tip: Make this lower in fat by using lite silken tofu and fat-free soy milk: 200 Calories (kcal); 2g Total Fat; (10% calories from fat); 11g Protein; 34g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 485mg Sodium; 4g Fiber. Weight Watchers Core (omit tahini)/3 Flex Points.