I tweaked a recipe that turned out to be just the basic inspiration for this dish...the original was in Diane Mott Davidson's novel, Prime Cut, but I took off (wildly!) from there.
Almost no carbs, lots of protein and LOTS of taste...
1 package cream cheese or neufchatel
4 eggs (preferable free range, cage-free)
1/2 yellow onion, diced and sautee'd in butter or oil
1 C. spinach or wild greens...cooked, drained well and chopped (we had some heavy-duty salad greens from a biodynamic farm that made great cooked greens...)
1/2 T. Dijon mustard
1/4 C. grated Parmesan (I used a mix of Parmesan/Asiago/Romano)
1 C. grated Gruyere, if you have it. If not, any amount of whatever cheese you like. I had Cotswold chive...and only about 1/3 cup. Whatever. It's not an exact science!)
Sprinkle of paprika (I used smoked)
Little bit of cumin or cayenne (I couldn't find the cayenne)
Sea salt
Pepper to taste (you can use Pepperman for these last two...it's gorgeous!)
If you think you need more liquid, 1/4 C. cream, milk, white wine, chicken stock, whatever. No biggie. It's only 1/4 cup!
If you've got scallions or chives, add 1/2 cup chopped. If not, don't worry about it, it's going to be delicious anyway!
I skipped the crust 'cause I'm skipping empty carbs as much as possible.
Mix the cream cheese/neufchatel till soft, beat in the eggs one at a time (or all at once, who cares?) Add the Dijon and mix well with a mixer.
Saute' the onions, drain and chop the greens, grate the cheese and stir them all in along with the spices and salt.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and bake for about an hour, until the mixture is set and browned on top. The scent will drive you crazy well in advance of this, of course...
Perfect for a chilly late fall day...
