I made this for Valentine’s Day. Avoiding the campus party scene and trying to put the reality of my singleness out of my mind, I headed down Broadway to my favorite grocery store at about 11pm the night before to stock up on groceries. With a good amount of Swiss cheese left in my fridge from a party platter earlier that week, I planned to make a quiche. The best distraction on a boring afternoon (or a holiday you’d like to forget) is a new dish that requires some time to research and some energy to bring multiple parts of the recipe together.
While I have made quiche before on a few occasions, it’s been more than a year since I’ve put everything together to produce that perfect combination of fluffy filling atop a flaky crust we look for in a good quiche. Looking through numerous recipes on epicurious.com and allrecipes.com, I took heed of the suggestion to use a food processor which had been sitting unused on my dorm room shelf since August to bring the crust together. The food processor made easy work of the dough, but in the end my grandmother’s vintage processor took far longer to disassemble and clean than working the butter in with a pastry blender would have. The filling was then a simple layering of vegetables cooked or left raw to best bring out their flavors. The flavors turned out absolutely delicious and the quiche kept well for the next few days as I finished off the 11-inch tart with a simple salad.
Vegetable Quiche
Crust
A simple, four-ingredient formula I found that worked with the fat I had, butter. This crust can be used for just about any pie or tart.
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/4 cup ice water
Combine the dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Dice the stick of butter into 1/2 inch cubes and keep very chill by trying to avoid too much contact with your warm hands. Add the butter to the flour and pulse until just combined. With the pusher removed, slowly pour the ice water into the food processor as it is spinning until it holds together as a single piece. Turn the dough out onto a flat surface and gently knead it just enough to bring it into a ball. Wrap with plastic and flatten to a round. Refrigerate for about an hour.
Preheat oven to 375°. Line a countertop with plastic wrap and sprinkle with a small amount of flour. Rub a little bit of flour on your rolling pin (I recommend a French-style tapered wooden rolling pin). Roll out the dough into a round just bigger than the size of your tart pan. Avoid over-working the dough, its flakiness depends on your gentleness. Slide a baking sheet under the plastic wrap and with the tart pan inverted on top, flip the dough into the tart pan. Gently push the crust into the creases of the pan. Roll the pin along the top edges of the tart pan to remove the excess dough.
Line the tart pan with a thin layer of aluminum foil. Spread pie weights or dry beans evenly across the bottom. Bake until golden brown. Carefully remove the foil and weights from the tart pan and pierce the surface of the crust with a fork to allow steam to escape and keep the crust flat and even.
Filling
Delicious, savory quiche filling that is easy to make. There is probably a better solution for making the egg fluffier so I will be recipe crawling and provide an update to the post. Play around with the ingredients to see what combinations of flavors suit you best.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a non-stick pan over medium heat, sauté some chopped onion and chopped, fresh rosemary in a small amount of oil until translucent. Add chopped red pepper and mushroom, stirring. When red pepper becomes tender, remove from heat.
In a large mixing bowl beat together 8-10 large eggs with about a cup of milk or cream. Season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste as well as a small amount of nutmeg, thyme, and crushed red pepper.
Spread the onion mixture evenly across the tart shell. Layer with chopped baby spinach followed by a layer of grated Swiss cheese and another layer of spinach. Pour the egg mixture into the tart shell making sure to spread evenly. Place the tart towards the middle of the oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until the egg is puffed and firm.
Let cool for a few minutes, slice, and enjoy! Try pairing with a light salad and a slice of ham (went veg-friendly for a friend).
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