Vegan Spinach Chick'n Quiche

When I still ate meat, I would sometimes roast a chicken on Sundays, and then save the leftovers in the freezer to make other dishes with. My favorites were enchiladas (of course!), and chicken and veggie quiche. Really, I liked them better than the original meal.

Last Thanksgiving when I had some leftover veggie chicken and an extra store-bought pie crust, I remembered the quiche and whipped up a quick vegan version. It was so good, it's become part of the regular dinner rotation at my house. I started with the pan-baked tofu omelet recipe I make sometimes, stirred some tofu scramble spice into it instead of individual seasonings, and added the veggie chicken (a.k.a. chick'n) and spinach.

This is a pretty versatile recipe. You could replace the chick'n with a vegetable if you like - just make sure that it's well cooked and dry, so that it doesn't make the quiche watery. You would need about 2/3 cup vegetables (after cooking) to replace either the chick'n or the spinach. Now I'm imagining a mushroom and broccoli version.

Also, since I seem find myself making this on super busy days, I've absent-mindedly left out the herbs or the green onions and the quiche has still been great, I've listed those as optional. But use them if you remember!

I'm sending this to My Legume Love Affair, the long-running blog event started by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook, now run by Lisa of Lisa's Kitchen, and hosted this month by Nupur of One Hot Stove. 

Vegan Spinach Chick'n Quiche 

1 (14-ounce) package medium-firm tofu
1 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons tofu scramble spice (see note for options)
1/2 (10-ounce) package Gardein Chick'n scallopini, diced small, about a cup
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed very dry
2 green onions, sliced, green part only (optional)
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano (optional, see note)
1 (9-inch) deep dish pie shell, unbaked

Preheat oven to 350 F. Cut the tofu into a few pieces and process in a food processor or blender with the mirin and olive oil until it's creamy. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the flour, tofu scramble seasoning, chick'n, spinach, green onions and oregano, if using. Transfer mixture to the pie shell and smooth the top. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the center is set and the top is lightly browned.

Let stand out of the oven for 15-20 minutes before slicing, if you can stand to wait. Slice into 8 slices. Serves 4.

Note: if you don't want to make up a batch of tofu scramble seasoning, replace it with 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon turmeric, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1/4 teaspoon onion powder.

Instead of oregano, try any dried herb. I can testify that tarragon is delicious, and I can imagine dill, basil, thyme, or sage would also be good.