I just threw this together to use ingredients I had on-hand, and it worked out well, so I’m taking notes for posterity. It doesn’t really have a cheesecake texture — it’s more somewhere between a quiche and a soufflé. To be more DASHy, the pie crust ought to have been homemade with whole grains, but I had a purchased pie crust that was approaching its best by date and I was feeling pretty lazy besides. If you’re feeling too lazy to make a pie crust, maybe line the bottom with crushed crackers, or skip it altogether?

I get many of my ingredients, including the chorizo, from Imperfect Foods. (If you use this link, you get $10 off your first order and I get a $10 credit.) I’m sure any low-sodium sausage will do. This chorizo is spicy enough that I didn’t feel the need to add any hot pepper. To keep the sodium really low, I used only 1/2 the chorizo, since the crust and cheese also bring sodium.

Makes 4 large servings (for a one-dish meal) or 8 servings (and complete your meal with a nice salad).

Ingredients

• 1 pie crust (optional)
• olive oil
• 1 small to medium red onion, sliced in half at the equator, and slice each half longitudinally.
• 5 to 10 oz No Evil Plant-Based Chorizo – El Zapatista, crumbled
• 1 small crown of broccoli. Chop the florets in small pieces, and separately chop the stems, peel and chop the top part of the trunk.
• 1 cup grated cheese (I used 1/2 gruyere, 1/4 mozzarella, and 1/4 sharp cheddar).
• 2-3 leeks, white and light green portions, sliced (clean your leeks well)
• 1/2 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 3 to 5 oz fresh baby spinach
• 1/2 tsp Penzey’s Sunny Paris or Florida Seasoned Pepper (or any salt-free lemon-pepper spice blend)
• 15 oz ricotta cheese
• 4 eggs

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375 F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan (or casserole dish, if not using pie crust).
• If using pie crust, line the bottom of the springform pan with the pie crust and press the edges against the side. (The filling will be higher than the crust).
• Heat a large frying pan over medium heat, add olive oil to just grease the bottom (2-3 tbsp depending on size of pan). When oil is hot, add the onions, chorizo, and broccoli stem/trunk pieces. Sauté until onions start to soften. Add the broccoli florets and sauté until the florets turn dark green.
• Sprinkle 1/4 of the cheese over the bottom of the crust. Put the onion-chorizo-broccoli mixture over that. Sprinkle 1/4 of the cheese over the onion-chorizo-broccoli mixture. (If not using crust, don’t put any cheese on the bottom, and put the full 1/2 of the cheese on top of the mixture). (I used pre-shredded mozzarella and cheddar for this step).
• If the frying pan is dry, add more oil. Sauté the leeks and mushrooms until they start getting soft. Add the spinach and sauté until spinach is wilted. Sprinkle with the seasoning and mix well. Set aside to cool (just enough so that it won’t cook the eggs).
• Break the eggs into a large food processor and blend well. Add the ricotta and blend well. Add the rest of the grated cheese and blend (I used fresh grated gruyere). Add the cooled spinach mixture and blend well. Pour the egg-cheese-spinach mixture into the springform pan on top of the chorizo and cheese.
• Put the pan into the preheated oven. Lower the oven temperature to 325 F. Bake for 1 hour.
• Let cool for 10 minutes before removing the sides of the springform pan and cutting into slices.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•