Rapini, Feta and Lemon Quiche

I'm always interested in trying new leafy greens, so I was enticed by a fairly cheap bunch of crinkly, bright emerald rapini at FroGro. After a bit of internet research I learned that rapini, also called broccoli rabe, is very popular in Italian and Chinese cuisine. It is quite bitter, but when prepared correctly it can be downright delicious. Not to mention, like most leafy greens, it is full of good-for-you vitamins and minerals! I had an old sheet of (I admit, store-bought) pie crust in my fridge, so I decided to try to incorporate my bunch of rapini into a quiche.

Ingredients
One sheet of pie dough
Two heaping handfuls of washed and torn rapini
2 Tbsp butter
One large lemon
Around a cup of crumbled feta cheese
Three large eggs
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
Salt and pepper

Directions
Saute the rapini for a couple of minutes in the butter, before squeezing the juice of a large lemon on top. Put a lid on top of the pan to briefly steam the rapine. Remove from heat when the rapini is bright green and soft. Be careful not to overcook the rapini, or it will turn brown.

Scatter the feta cheese on top of the pie crust until it is evenly covered, then layer the rapini on top of the feta.

Whisk together the eggs, half-and-half and salt and pepper. Pour this mixture on top of the feta and rapini, until it reaches the edge of the pie-crust.

Bake for an hour or so, until the quiche is cooked all the way through and golden on top.

The quiche was pretty good, although perhaps a little too tart from the lemon (however, I wouldn't eliminate the lemon entirely, since it balanced out the rapini's bitterness nicely). Even after making the quiche, I still have more than half of my rapini bunch left. I've been told it is delicious sauteed in soy sauce and sesame seed oil, so I'll have to try that next!

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