For reasons unknown I grew up eating quiche. It’s not something my mom would ever make from scratch, not something I remember eating in restaurants, but a large part of my childhood was spent eating quiche. I vaguely remember eating frozen mini-quiches by Schneiders… but who knows where that comes from.
My love of quiche has only grown over the years. I spent five months studying Paris where was everywhere. Literally. Pretty much every corner Patisserie made a quiche or two — which meant that I often had quiche for lunch. After I had my wisdom teeth taken out the first food that I wanted was quiche.
So with all that said I’ve spent years perfecting my quiche recipe. For me, the perfect quiche involves either ham or bacon and an assortment of veggies. Don’t get me wrong, I love a broccoli and cheese quiche but give me a quiche loaded with broccoli, mushrooms AND zucchini and I’m in heaven.
The springboard for my recipe comes from a quiche recipe from the December 2005 issue of Gourmet (click the link for the original recipe). It’s a good recipe on it’s own except that it calls for too much liquid and fat… but it works. For my quiche I halved the amount of zucchini and added a variety of mushrooms and broccoli (I used frozen broccoli because I had it in the freezer. It worked well but I would use fresh next time). I may have added some extra bacon… because I have a love affair with the bacon.
Enjoy
My Totally Yummy Quiche!
1 (9-inch) deep dish pie crust
1/4 lb sliced bacon, coarsely chopped (I use about 6-7 slices)
1 medium zucchini , halved lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices
1 cup mixed mushrooms, sliced (I like white, portobella and cremini)
1 cup broccoli, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 large eggs
2 oz Gruyère, coarsely grated (1 cup)
Preparation
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F.
Fit pie dough into pie plate and lightly prick all over. Bake according to package instructions, then transfer crust in pie plate to a rack.
Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.
While crust bakes, cook bacon in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until just crisp, about 6 minutes. Transfer bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper-towel-lined plate, reserving 1 tablespoon of fat in skillet.
Add zucchini, mushrooms and broccoli and 1/4 teaspoon salt to fat in skillet and sauté over moderately high heat, stirring frequently, until vegetables are tender and starting to brown, about 5 minutes, then transfer with slotted spoon to a plate.
Heat cream, milk, pepper, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a 1- to 2-quart saucepan until mixture reaches a bare simmer, then remove from heat.
Whisk together eggs in a large heatproof bowl, then gradually whisk in hot cream mixture until combined. Stir in bacon, vegetables, and cheese and pour into piecrust. Bake until filling is just set, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer quiche in pan to rack to cool slightly, about 20 minutes.
