Recipe: Chickens, Eggs & Quiche

Photo by Len Villano.

Quiche, simply defined, is a savory egg pie or custard. Quiches are delicious and are so versatile – they can be pie-sized or individual bite–size morsels and can be made the day of an event or parbaked and frozen. Quiche is great for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It can be eaten cold or warm, which makes it easily packed for a picnic or afternoon on the boat. It’s also perfect when paired with a salad, fresh fruit or crusty toast.

Historically, quiche is known as a classic French dish, although it actually originated in Germany and England back in the 14th century (pre-Julia Child, believe it or not). It has stood the test of time.

When you think about it, quiche is a perfect Door County dish. We are blessed with bountiful, ever-changing fresh ingredients, such as farm fresh eggs, awesome artisan cheese, and locally-raised meats and vegetables. Here are some examples of my easy and delicious quiche recipes. Don’t limit yourself to my suggestions, have some fun with your quiche!

Caramelized Onion & Garlic Quiche

1 parbaked pie crust (see “No Fuss Pie Crust” recipe)

1 large sweet onion – thick sliced

2-3 garlic cloves – peeled and sliced

½ stick of butter

½ cup Swiss Gruyere cheese – shredded

Egg & Dairy Mixture (see recipe this page)

Fresh thyme – chopped

Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 375˚.

Over low to medium heat sauté the onion and garlic in ½ stick of butter until they are translucent and wilted. Add a pinch of salt as they cook. It will take about half an hour to caramelize onions and bring out the sweetness. Keep the heat low to avoid browning the onions, and stir often.

Add the chopped thyme, salt and pepper to the Egg & Dairy Mixture.

To assemble the quiche:  spread the caramelized onions in the crust. Sprinkle the shredded cheese. Pour the Egg & Dairy Mixture over the top. Bake for approximately 45 minutes or until done. Quiche will be firm to the touch when done. Cut like a pie and enjoy!

Bacon, Scallion & Bleu Mushroom Quiche

1 parbaked pie crust (see “No Fuss Pie Crust” recipe)

5 slices of thick cut bacon

1 cup brown button mushrooms diced small

1 handful fresh parsley – chopped

6-8 fresh scallions, julienned

Egg & Dairy Mixture (see recipe this page)

2/3 cup of bleu cheese crumbles (substitute feta if bleu cheese brings you down)

Salt and pepper

Nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 375˚.

Pan fry the bacon until crisp. Sauté the scallions and mushrooms with the parsley in bacon fat (about a tablespoon) until the scallions wilt – about five minutes. Salt and pepper as they cook.

Add a pinch of nutmeg, salt and pepper to the Egg & Dairy Mixture.

To assemble the quiche:  Toss the bacon into the scallion mushroom mixture, spread in the crust to create a bottom layer. Sprinkle bleu cheese crumbles onto the ingredients. Pour the Egg & Dairy Mixture over the top. Bake for 45 minutes or until done. Quiche will be firm to the touch when done. Cut like a pie and enjoy!

No Fuss Pie Crust

Makes 2 crusts

2 ½ cups all purpose flour, extra for rolling

1 teaspoon salt

1 stick cold butter (cut the butter into chunks and put it in the freezer for 15 minutes or longer before you use it)

6 – 8 tablespoons ice water

The real way to have a “no fuss crust” is to not overthink the process.

Step 1:  Mix the flour and salt together. Cut the butter into the flour the old-fashioned way using a pastry cutter until it starts to form small balls.

Step 2:  Add the ice water one tablespoon at a time. Use your hands when adding the water to the dough. You should be able to gather up all the crumbly bits; the dough should be firm but not squishy. Do not over-handle pie dough, but gather it up in as few strokes as possible. The less you work it, the flakier the crust.

Step 3:  Form the dough into a ball, cut the ball in half. Flour the surface (don’t be afraid of the flour, you can brush the excess off when you are finished rolling out the dough). The preferred rolling surface is marble or granite. If you are like me and do not have access to a marble counter top, use a wooden surface or two pieces of wax paper, which allows for an easy flip into the pie plate.

Step 4:  Parbake the crust for 10 minutes, which means to bake just the crust for a short time before you assemble the quiche for baking. When parbaking an empty pie crust, I recommend placing a second pie plate on the top to hold the crust in place.

Variations:  Have some fun with the crust. You can sprinkle shredded Parmesan cheese onto the crust before you parbake it. Try adding herbs (like parsley, thyme, rosemary, oregano, chervil, lavender or tarragon), chili flakes, or black or white pepper directly to the dough. The sky is the limit here. Add the herbs to the flour with the salt. When adding cheese use about a 1/4 cup and/or 2-3 tablespoons of fresh herbs per batch.

Egg & Dairy Mixture

Rule of thumb – 3 eggs for every 1 cup of liquid. For the recipes printed here, I used 6 eggs and 2 cups of liquid.

Whisk eggs with dairy, which can be made up of any or all of the following:

• Heavy Cream:  Yields ideal custard texture, high calories, full flavor*
• Half and Half:  Fewer calories, full flavor
• Whole Milk:  Fewest calories and flavor, custard texture compromised

*I recommend using heavy cream for quiche. There are more calories, but it tastes so much better.

Photography by Len Villano.