SPRING QUICHE
By Southfacin’ Cook Patsy Brumfield
Quiche is one of the easiest, cheapest, most adaptable go-to meals ever. After its simple base, you just go with what you like in the fridge or freezer or pantry, within reason. Remember, though, that fresh ingredients like onions and mushrooms, as well as raw meats, should be sautéed before incorporating to ensure they are fully cooked and at their tastiest.
In celebration of spring’s arrival, I’m using frozen spinach, mushrooms, asparagus, red bell peppers, green onions and English peas.
UTENSILS:
Mixing bowl, whisk, fork, ladle, micro plane, chopping board, chef’s knife, cereal bowls for chopped ingredients, baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.
INGREDIENTS:
Deep dish frozen pie crust
6 eggs
8 oz. shredded cheese (Use several favorites, like cheddar and Monterrey Jack, or Swiss and Gouda)
2/3 C milk/cream/half-and-half
1/4 C Greek yogurt
salt, pepper (I like a pinch of cayenne, too)
1/4 t grated nutmeg
olive oil
Chopped veggies – about 1/2 cup each: mushrooms, English peas, frozen or roughly chopped fresh spinach, red bell peppers, green onions
(Other ingredient choices – sautéed onions, shrimp, crabmeat, ham, bacon, shredded chicken, ripe olives, artichokes, broccoli, and fresh herbs (you get my drift.). Thinly sliced tomatoes are good, no cooking, just remove the seeds because they have a lot of water in them.)
LET’S GET STARTED:
Preheat oven 350. Take fork and repeatedly pierce bottom of nearly thawed pie crust in its pan. (Generally, this is to prevent the bottom from rising up. If it does just a little, don’t worry about it.) Place crust-pan on baking sheet, bake 10 mins. Remove from oven and sprinkle half of shredded cheese on bottom of crust.
If you have chosen ingredients that need sautéing (which means to mostly cook them), add a little olive oil to your sauté pan and do that while the crust-pan is baking. In this version, I’ll sauté chopped mushrooms and asparagus stems.
In medium-size mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk/cream, yogurt, pinch salt, pepper. Micro plane nutmeg into mixture. Whisk well.
Layer chopped veggies atop melted cheese into pie-shell. Top with half of remaining cheese.
Ladle egg mixture into stuffed pie crust.
Top with rest of grated cheese. (Careful sliding pie on baking sheet into the oven. Don’t want filling to “slop” around.) Bake 30 mins. Check to see if middle doesn’t “quiver” when you shake baking sheet slightly. If it does, cook another 10-15 mins. It should have puffed up nicely with a golden top, though it’s likely to deflate slightly by the time it’s cool enough to eat.
Cool a few minutes (5-10) before cutting into wedges. You might sprinkle a little paprika over the top for color and slight flavor.
SERVE – Plate quiche wedge alone or with favorite sides (could be veggies like asparagus, roasted squash or sweet potatoes, or bacon or ham) and a green salad. How good and easy is this? Answer: Very and very. Leftovers aren’t quite as good as the original, but cold or briefly microwaved, they still beat fast food.
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