I was tempted to call this "quick quiche" because I made it with frozen pie crust (gasp). Am I embarrassed to call myself a food blogger? Maybe my inner pastry chef is just a little, but my outer working mom is just trying to get by and makes no apologies. Yes, in a perfect world everything would be organic and made from scratch (and I'd be 5 inches taller and wear a size 8). But I don't live in that world, I live in Jersey.
Getting back to the quiche itself...this recipe is extremely versatile; you can fill it with anything you want. I went with broccoli and cheddar so it would appeal to the younger taste buds at my house. But you can elevate it by choosing fancier fillings (like smoked salmon and asparagus), for when guests with more sophisticated palates stop by.
BROCCOLI QUICHE
Makes 1 (9-inch) quiche
1 cup heavy cream (or half-and-half)
2 eggs
2 pinches salt
a few pinches freshly grated nutmeg
1 frozen 9-inch pie crust
filling:
1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 medium shallots, finely chopped
2 medium shallots, finely chopped
1 yellow pepper, chopped
2-3 cups steamed broccoli florets
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1. Preheat oven to 350ยบ F.
2. Heat the olive oil in a small skillet. Add the shallots and cook for 1 minute. Add the yellow pepper and cook until a fork pierces easily, about 5 minutes.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the cream (or half-and-half) and the eggs. Whisk until combined thoroughly. Add the salt and the nutmeg. Whisk to combine.
4. Evenly distribute the cooked shallots, pepper and broccoli in the pie crust. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top. Pour the cream mixture over the filling (leave a little room; the eggs will puff up during baking).
5. Bake until firm to the touch (like set jell-o), about 45 minutes. Cool the pie for at least 15 minutes before slicing.
More suggested fillings:
- cooked spinach, cheddar cheese, cubed cooked ham
- bacon, sauteed leeks, and gruyere cheese
- cooked spinach, canned artichoke hearts, and parmesan cheese
- roasted chicken, goat cheese, and sun-dried tomatoes
adapted from “Refrigerator Pie” by Alton Brown
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| shallots and yellow pepper cooking |
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| steamed broccoli florets |
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| vegetables in pie crust |
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| cheese sprinkled on top |
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| cream and egg mixture whisked I whisk it right in the measuring cup, that way it's easy to pour out the spout. |
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| pouring in the cream-egg mixture |
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| ready to bake I did use a deep dish pie crust, so I had a little extra room. |
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| baked |
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| cross section Good thing I snapped a photo early because there weren't any leftovers (always a good sign). Even my daughter liked it. |
2 comments:
I certainly approve of the frozen pie crust. We've got to do what we've got to do...
I just made a fantastic quiche last night (I'll be posting it next week) with tomatoes, scallions, and Romano cheese. It was so good. But I use 2% or 1% milk instead of the cream and find it tastes really good anyway.
I also refuse to cook anything BEFORE it goes into the pie crust because I'm lazy (and have Andy prowling around most of the time I'm cooking so faster is best) so I use defrosted and squeezed dry frozen spinach and broccoli so I don't have to pre-cook it and it still loses its extra water.
It's nice to know I'm not alone!
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