Keto Melitzanopita – Greek feta and eggplant quiche
Keto Melitzanopita tastes like a dessert but it never meant to be a dessert! The Greek name of this vegetable refers to being sweet as honey. Well, it’s a savoury and salty quiche and I created it out of curiosity. This project ended up very tasty so it had to be published as a recipe! Of course, the creamy texture of goat butter, beautiful free-range eggs and original Greek Feta cheese allowed me to bring it to a proper KMD level!
A quick overview of eggplant history
This versatile nightshade originates in India where it was reported to grow wildly. In American Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Gardening, there’s an interesting reference saying that a 5th Century Chinese book contains the oldest written recipe for a dish made with eggplant.
The eggplant was not quite known to the ancient Greeks and Romans. In Europe, it spread throughout the Mediterranean Basin as a result of Turkish and Arabic expansion in the 7th and 8th centuries.
Eggplant, which is sometimes called aubergine (Solanum melongena L., Solanaceae), is indigenous to Asian areas from northeast India and Burma, to Northern Thailand, Laos, Viet Nam and Southwest China. In those areas it still grows wildley!
Eggplant is a fruit but it’s usage and production as a vegetable
is exceeding 31 million tonnes!
The tastiest variety is grown on Santorini
This summer I published the simplest recipe for eggplant and the extraordinary magic of that dish lays in the variety of eggplant. It simply needs to be prepared with the white variety from Santorini. Solanum avigerum is the botanical name if you would like to give them a try in your garden, but you need a warm and humid climate to grow them.
Santorini eggplant is successfully grown on this extraterrestrial looking island. Its seed came from Egypt and the plant adapted very well to Santorini volcanic soil and microclimate. This variety does not have the bitterness of conventional dark violet eggplant. However, if you cannot find white eggplant, just about any variety will work in this Keto quiche recipe!
Eggplant is generally abundant in vitamin C, calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron and phosphorus. It also contains a powerful antioxidant that protects brain cells and the immune system.
Greeks and Mediterraneans love it
You will find eggplant in almost every Greek comfort food recipe. We ketonised just a few of them, so you can try Keto Moussaka, Papoutsakia, Gemista, Briam or even our Balkan Keto Ajvar version. However, this quiche is going to steal your heart due to the ideal ingredient combo. Feta cheese can make anything taste better and boost the mineral content. In the end, a dash of aged goat cheese (lightly roasted to a golden hue) gives the ultimate texture, visual effect, and unforgettable aroma.
Keto Melitzanopita and its seductive powers
Keto Melitzanopita or eggplant quiche is quite seductive and easy to fall in love with. I should just give you the recipe, you will understand what I am talking about the moment you take it out of the oven. It smells and tastes like a treat any Keto foodie would adore! The texture gets even better once you let it cool down totally. It can easily be consumed on the next day as an addition to a healthy KMD meal. So, let’s just see how to make this artistic Keto Melitzanopita quiche…
Keto Melitzanopita (Eggplant Quiche)
8
servings10
minutes25
minutes201
kcalIngredients
4 large eggs (free-range)
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
50g butter (1,7 oz) (I used goat butter)
150g (5,3 oz) grated eggplant (preferably white eggplant)
70g (2,5 oz) Greek Feta cheese
1/2 tsp saffron
1 tsp red paprika powder
1/2 turmeric powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp red, black and white pepper, freshly ground
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp ground sesame seeds
1 tsp coconut oil
- Garnish
2 tbsp grated goat or sheep cheese (preferably aged)
Directions
- Beat the eggs with apple cider vinegar using an electric mixer and slowly start adding melted butter. Beat until you get a smooth emulsion.
- Add grated eggplant, crumbled feta cheese and all the spices. In the end, add baking soda. Keep mixing until everything is unified.
- Grease a 12″ pie pan with some coconut oil and sprinkle with ground sesame seeds. (You can use some coconut flour if you don’t have ground sesame seeds)
- Pour the quiche mixture in the pan and bake it in the oven at 180ºC (356ºF) for 20 minutes.
- Take the quiche out of the oven, sprinkle it with grated goat or sheep cheese, and return it in the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes.
- Serve warm or cold as an appetiser or a side dish.
Notes
- The eggplant is rich in protein and together with eggs, Feta cheese and aged goat cheese, this Quiche offers 10g of protein per portion while giving less than 2g of net carbs! If you are on a run, it can replace a healthy breakfast the next day.
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