Cheese and Broccoli Quiche

We’ve recently been blessed with an abundance of eggs from bartering garden greens, kombucha and other odds and ends, so I decided to throw together a quick supper last night that used quite a few of them up – quiche.

The recipe I used was based on the “cheese quiche with vegetables” master recipe from The Garden Fresh Vegetable Cookbook by Andrea Chesman.  It’s one of my favorite “go-to” books for using up fresh produce.  The recipes are straightforward and flavorful, and while she does use extra-virgin olive oil in many recipes, she’s not afraid of cream and butter.  (Many vitamins in veggies are fat-soluble, which means that if you don’t eat them with fat, you don’t absorb all the vitamins.  Butter is our friend.)

Cheese and Broccoli Quiche recipe

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 unbaked crust for a 9-inch or 10-inch pie* (I used a 10 inch pan, but it probably would have been fine in a 9-inch)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups chopped broccoli (she recommends blanching, but I skipped that step and the broccoli was fine)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1/2 cup chopped ham (optional)
3 large eggs (I used five or six smaller ones)
milk or cream
salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 425.

Bake the crust for 5 minutes, until lightly colored.  Remove from the oven and let cool.  Reduce the oven temperature to 375 F.

Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the cheese in the crust.  Make a layer of the broccoli on top of the cheese.  Sprinkle with the chives and ham (if desired).

Beat the eggs in a glass measuring cup.  Add enough milk or cream to make 1 1/2 cups.  Season with salt and pepper.  Pour over the vegetables.  Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup cheese over the quiche.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until puffed and browned.  Let stand for at least 10 minutes.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

*Basic pie crust for a single crust pie

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter or lard
3 tablespoons cold water

Cut together flour, salt and butter with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture resembles course crumbs.  Sprinkle water over mixture, and blend with a fork until it just comes together (over-mixing will make the dough tougher and harder to work with).  To make it easier to roll, wrap in wax paper and refrigerate 30 minutes.  (I was in a hurry, so I skipped this step.)  Roll into a 12inch round between two sheets of waxed paper or reusable parchment paper lightly dusted with flour.

I thought the quiche was pretty darn tasty.  My youngest didn’t like that all the foods were mixed together (pot pie is fine, but this was not – can’t figure that one out).  The eldest ate two pieces, so he must have been okay with it.  You can use other cheeses and other veggies – pretty much whatever you have on hand, although when I tried it with tomatoes and basil it got quite runny.

How do you like to use garden produce for quick summer meals?  Please leave a comment and let me know.  I’m always looking for new recipes.

This post has been added to Pennywise Platter Thursday for July 7, 2011 at the Nourishing Gourmet and Homestead Barn Hop#19at the Prairie Homestead.

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