Mushroom-Crust Quiche

My mom always made this; I'm pretty sure she got it from a newspaper in the early '60s. It's a fantastic quiche and a great base recipe for improvising on. And, like most quiches, it can easily be made gluten-free. Note: I've found that the moisture level can vary quite a bit (mostly because of variations in cottage cheese) and that makes the cooking time vary. So it can take as long as 45 minutes to bake.

• Ready In: 1 hr 30 mins
• Serves: 8
• Yields: 1 pie

Ingredients

• 1⁄2 lb mushroom, washed and coarsely chopped
• 1⁄4 cup butter
• 1⁄2 cup  saltine, finely crushed
• 3⁄4 cup scallion, chopped
• 1⁄2 lb monterey jack cheese, grated
• 1  cup cottage cheese, large-curd
• 3  eggs
• 1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1⁄4 teaspoon paprika, approx

Directions

1. Preheat over to 350°F.
2. Saute the mushrooms in the butter until they're limp and much reduced in volume.
3. Stir in the crushed crackers, then press the mixture evenly into a greased (I use ghee) 8x8 pan or a 9-inch pie pan. (Don't worry about going up the sides.).
4. In a blender, mix the cottage cheese, eggs, and cayenne until smooth. Pour the mix into a bowl and stir in the scallions and the grated cheese.
5. Pour everything onto the mushroom crust.
6. Sprinkle with paprika.
7. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Let it rest for 15 minutes before you cut it.