I had and open package of chicken bacon in the fridge that needed to be used up as well as a couple of leeks from our last produce basket, so this quiche made for an ideal breakfast option. I went with sourdough pastry again so that I could use a bit more starter as well.

The quiche was delicious. But I still think I'd make a few tweaks next time. And, surprisingly, one of those tweaks would be to add less cheese. Usually, if I'm making adjustments to the amount of cheese called for in the recipe, it's an increase to the amount, not a decrease! But I actually feel like this one went a bit too heavy on the cheese. I mean, it tasted great, but it had so much gruyère that it became almost more like a cheese pie than a quiche. And all that cheese made it a little greasy as well. So I do think I'd try cutting the cheese slightly next time.

I might also increase the egg a touch. The original recipe called for a 23cm (9") loose-bottom tart tin, but I prefer to use my 23cm deep-dish pie plate for quiche. Which, to be fair, worked fine. But I did find that, with only two eggs, the pie shell was left slightly under-filled. So I think I'd try adding an extra egg next time.

And, depending on how I was feeling, I might try making the custard with whole milk rather than half-and-half. Just to lighten it up a bit. Don't get me wrong! The half-and-half was delicious. But it did make for a very rich final result. I'd be interested to see how it turned out with milk instead.

Bacon, Leek, and Gruyère Quiche

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1/2 recipe sourdough pastry (or pastry of your choice)
• 4-6 slices bacon
• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 leeks, halved and thinly sliced (light parts only)
• 3 large eggs
• 1 c. half-and-half (10%) or milk
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 100g gruyère cheese, grated

Directions

1. Roll out pastry and use it to line a 23cm (9") deep-dish pie plate. Freeze for 30 minutes.
2. Place a baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 190°C (375°F).
3. Line pie shell with baking paper and fill with pie weights. Place on hot baking sheet and bake at 190°C (375°F) for 15 minutes.
4. Remove pie weights and bake for another 5 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, cook bacon until crisp and chop.
6. Drain fat from pan, return pan to heat, and melt butter over medium-low heat.
7. Add leeks and cook until softened (~10 minutes).
8. Beat eggs with half-and-half (or milk), salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
9. Once pie shell is baked, add the leeks and bacon in an even layer in the bottom.
10. Top with cheese.
11. Give the custard a final mix and pour it into the pie shell.
12. Return quiche to oven on top of hot baking sheet and bake at 190°C (375°F) for 30 minutes.

I was perusing the Dish of the Day book looking for breakfast ideas and ran across this quiche recipe. The original recipe included a crust, but I was trying to cut both time and calories from the preparation, so I left that bit out. I also increased the spinach a bit and added an extra egg.

Crustless Spinach-Feta Quiche

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c. frozen chopped spinach or kale, thawed
• 4 large eggs
• 1 c. milk
• 1/2 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• ~1/16 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 150g feta, crumbled

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease a pie plate with a little butter.
2. Spread the spinach over the bottom of the pie plate.
3. Beat eggs with milk, cream, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
4. Pour egg mixture over spinach.
5. Sprinkle the feta over the surface.
6. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for ~40 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

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Variations

Quiche with Crust

Ingredients

Pastry

• 220g all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter
• 1/4 c. ice water

Filling

• 1 1/2 c. frozen chopped spinach or kale, thawed
• 4 large eggs
• 1 c. milk
• 1/2 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• ~1/16 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 150g feta, crumbled

Directions

1. Combine the flour, sugar, and salt.
2. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients.
3. Mix in the water 1 Tbsp. at a time until the pastry comes together.
4. Shape into a disc, wrap, and chill for at least 1 hour.
5. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
6. Roll out the pastry and use it to line a pie plate.
7. Crimp the edges of the crust, line the shell with parchment paper, and fill with pie weights.
8. Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 15 minutes.
9. Remove weights and paper and bake for another 5 minutes.
10. Reduce oven temperature to 180°C (350°F) and move oven rack to lowest position.
11. Fill pie shell and bake quiche as for crustless version above: spinach + custard + cheese, then bake for 40 minutes and rest for 5.

We had brunch with TM and some family friends this past weekend. I wanted to contribute something, but I was still getting my combobules in order after the big camping trip and feeling a bit disorganized and disoriented. I wanted to pick something that would use up eggs -- since we still have so many! -- and I wanted to be able to do it without having to go to the grocery store.

We had gotten a small package of ground pork to use as bait for a lost cat who's been chasing our chickens. TF used a bit of it in the trap, but I figured that I could use the rest to make sausage for the quiche. And I knew we had an open jar of roasted bell peppers in the fridge that needed to be used, so I figured this would be a good way to use them up. Sadly, the peppers had shifted in the fridge at some point and the top started poking out of the liquid, so they were spoiled when I went to use them. Luckily we had some fresh bell peppers on hand so, after a trip under the broiler, we had roasted bell peppers again!

Normally I would have used regular yellow onions for this, but we were all out, so I ended up using Vidalias instead. I was also all out of mozzarella cheese, so I used a low-fat mild cheddar instead. And, because my starter was very hungry, I ended up trying out a sourdough pastry recipe for the crust rather than my usual shortcrust. All-in-all it worked out great though. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and the quiche sliced beautifully which was helpful for serving.

Sausage, Onion, and Roasted Bell Pepper Quiche

Slightly adapted from The Good Egg by Marie Simmons

Ingredients

• 200-250g Italian sausage, casings removed
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil (optional)
• 1 large onion, halved and sliced
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large (or 2 smaller) roasted bell peppers, diced
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 3 large eggs
• 1 c. half-and-half (10%)
• 1 (23cm/9") pie shell, blind baked
• 1/2 c. grated mozzarella (or mild cheddar)
• 1/2 c. grated Parmesan

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F).
2. Cook the sausage over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it cooks. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
3. At this point you're supposed to pour off any fat from the sausage, wipe out the skillet, add the oil, and continue from there. I decided to omit the oil and just cooked the onion in the sausage drippings.
4. Add the onion and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes.
5. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or so.
6. Add the roasted bell pepper, salt, and pepper.
7. Stir in the cooked sausage, remove from heat, and set aside.
8. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until light.
9. Mix in the half-and-half.
10. Spoon the sausage mixture into the pie shell.
11. Sprinkle the mozzarella and Parmesan on top.
12. Pour in the egg mixture.
13. Bake at 190°C (375°F) until eggs are just set (30-35 minutes).
14. Cut into wedges and serve.

Lovage, Tomato, and Cheese Tart

This tart is way tastier than it has any right to be! I don't understand it. There's nothing wrong with the ingredient list, but it didn't seem particularly inspiring either. No herbs, no spices (beyond black pepper), no Parmesan. There's some onion and garlic and Cheddar and things, but I wasn't confident that any of it would really shine. I put one or more kinds of cheese in almost every quiche I make -- onions and garlic are pretty common too -- but they don't all come out like this! They're usually tasty, sure, but not the addictive, rich, satisfying flavour-bomb that this one turned out to be. I am really impressed. I was already planning the modifications and improvements in my head while preparing it but, now that I've actually tried it, I don't think it needs any changes at all.

Loveage, Tomato, and Cheese Tart

Slightly adapted from the Book of Old Tarts by Elizabeth Hodder

Ingredients

• 175g Pastry
• 25g unsalted butter
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh lovage (young leaves only)¹
• 3 large eggs
• 300mL heavy (35%) cream
• black pepper, to taste
• 4 ripe tomatoes, skinned, chopped, and juices drained²
• 115g old/sharp/mature Cheddar, grated

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F) and line a shallow 23cm (9") tart tin³ with the pastry.
2. Line the pie shell with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Blind bake at 200°C (400°F) for 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, melt the butter with the olive oil over medium heat.
4. Add the onions and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes.
5. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 10-15 minutes.
6. Add the lovage and cook, uncovered, for 1 more minute. If using celery instead, cook for 5 more minutes.
7. Remove from heat and set aside.
8. Lightly beat the eggs.
9. Remove the parchemnt paper and pie weights from the pie shell and brush the pastry with beaten egg.
10. Return the pie shell to the oven and bake for another 5 minutes.
11. Mix the cream with the beaten eggs and season to taste with pepper.
12. Once the pie shell is fully baked, remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 190°C (375°F).
13. Sprinkle ~1/2 of the cheese over the bottom of the pie shell.
14. Add the onion mixture in an even layer on top of the cheese.
15. Add an even layer of chopped tomatoes over the onion.
16. Pour in the custard, being careful not to overflow the pie shell.
17. Top with remaining cheese.
18. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 30 minutes.
19. Serve warm.

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¹ If you don't have access to fresh lovage, you may use celery instead. (This is, incidentally, what I did.) Celery has a much milder flavour than lovage, so you'll need a lot more of it. Use 3-4 stalks of minced celery to replace the lovage. ^Back
2 I didn't have any fresh tomatoes on hand, so I used fire-roasted tinned diced tomatoes with the juices drained. I didn't measure the amount. I think I probably used ~300mL of tomatoes. ^Back
3 I used a shallow 23cm tart tin as directed but found that there wasn't enough room for all the custard. I had a scant cup left over. I would recommend either using a deep dish 23cm pie plate or scaling back the custard slightly. Maybe just two eggs and 200mL of cream. ^Back

I guess maybe this is technically a crustless quiche because it's made with a savoury custard rather than straight eggs. That said, it's prepared like a fritatta and it looks like a fritatta. So I'm calling it a fritatta.

I'm honestly surprised at how well this went over. Even the Kidlet liked it. Which was a bit surprising since she's be historically against both feta and olives. But she loved this! Personally, I felt like it was a little bland. I think it could've used a few more chili flakes. But it was still good even without the extra chili kick.

Greek Salad-Inspired Fritatta

Slightly adapted from Taste of Home

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small red onion, halved and sliced
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 1/2 bell pepper, chopped
• 2 handfulls baby spinach, roughly chopped
• 1/2 c. sliced kalamata olives
• 1/2-3/4 c. crumbled feta
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/8-1/4 tsp. red chili flakes
• 6 large eggs
• 1 c. milk
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F).
2. Heat a 30cm (12") cast iron skillet over medium heat.
3. Add oil to hot pan.
4. Add garlic and onion and cook for a minute or two.
5. Add bell pepper and tomato and cook for 3-5 minutes.
6. Add spinach and cook until just wilted.
7. Remove from heat and stir in olives, feta, pepper, and chili flakes.
8. Beat eggs with milk, oregano, and salt.
9. Pour egg mixture into pan.
10. Transfer to oven and bake for 20 minutes.
11. Slice and serve with garlic toast.

I had some squash filling left over after making the ravioli the other day, so the Kidlet and I decided to turn it into a quiche. I seasoned the custard with salt, pepper, and lemon thyme and then added some extra kale and a layer of balsamic caramelized onions on top of the squash. I finished it off with a little grated Cheddar. I'm pretty happy with how it came out, but I do regret not adding a few sautéed onions. I think it would've been nice to have the mushrooms in there to give a distinct textural element in addition to a bit of extra umami. Next time...

Squash & Caramelized Onion Quiche

Adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients

Crust

• ~200g shortcrust pastry
• 4 large egg whites

Custard

• 3 large eggs
• 1 c. milk
• 1/2 tsp. fresh lemon thyme
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground

Filling

• 227g cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 2 Tbsp. water
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 c. Squash ravioli filling
• 2 onions, halved and sliced
• 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 c. chopped kale
• 1/2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

Crust

1. Roll out the pastry and place it in a 23cm (9") pie plate.
2. Line with parchment paper and fill with pie weights, beans, rice, or sugar.
3. Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 15-20 minutes.
4. Remove parchment paper and pie weights, prick crust with fork and brush with some of the egg whites. Reserve the remaining egg whites for the custard.
5. Return to oven and bake for another 5-8 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and set aside.

Custard

1. Whisk eggs with egg whites and milk.
2. Mix in thyme, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

Filling

1. Cook mushrooms with water over medium heat. Cover and continue cooking until mushrooms soften.
2. Uncover, add 1 Tbsp. of oil, and season with salt and pepper if desired. Continue cooking until desired done-ness. Set aside.
3. Heat remaining 1 Tbsp. of oil over medium-low heat.
4. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for at least 20 minutes.
5. Add balsamic vinegar and cook for another minute or two.

Assembly

1. Place squash mixture in bottom of pie shell. Do not press or pack it in, there should be room for custard to flow between the pieces of filling.
2. Layer mushrooms over squash.
3. Layer the kale over the mushrooms.
4. Layer the onion over the kale.
5. Pour the custard into the pie shell. You may not need it all. Do not overfill!
6. Sprinkle cheese on top.
7. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 35-45 minutes.

We have a lot of eggs and I wanted something tasty for breakfast; quiche seemed like a good option. The mushrooms, zucchini, and feta worked quite well together here. I think a bit of thinly sliced leek would've made it even better, but it was plenty good as is.

Mushroom and Zucchini Quiche

Adapted from Good Housekeeping

Ingredients

• 200g pie pastry (enough for one 9" shell)
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 250g cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 leek, sliced thin, white and pale green only (optional)
• 1 smallish zucchini, chopped fine
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• ~50 grinds black pepper
• 150g feta, cubed
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/2 c. milk

Directions

1. Roll out the pastry and place it in your pie plate, crimping the edges as desired.
2. Crumple a sheet of parchment paper and place it in the pie shell. Fill the shell with beans, sugar, or pie weights.
3. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 15 minutes.
4. Remove the parchment paper and pie weights and continue baking for another 10-12 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, heat oil over medium heat.
6. Add mushrooms and cook, covered, stirring occasionally until they release their liquid.
7. Add garlic, leek (if using), zucchini, salt, and pepper and cook, uncovered, stirring often until veggies are softened and liquid has evaporated.
8. Remove pie shell from oven and allow to cool slightly.
9. While pie shell is cooling, place a baking sheet in the oven to warm up.
10. Spoon the cooked veggie mixture into the bottom of the pie shell.
11. Sprinkle the feta over the veggies.
12. Whisk the eggs with the milk and pour this mixture into the pie shell with the veggies and cheese.
13. Place quiche onto the hot baking sheet in the oven and bake at 190°C (375°F) for 30-45 minutes until just set.

Caramelized onions are amazing. I figured a tart full of them would definitely be a winner. I'm sad to say I was a little disappointed with this one. I mean, it was okay, but it didn't blow me away like the Potato, Spinach, and Raisin Tart I made a few weeks back. It was just... alright. I think, if I made it again, I might try adding a little cottage cheese to it. It might also be worth baking it in a 9" (23cm) springform pan rather that the 9" pie plate I used this time. The recipe specifies a "23cm (9 in) deep tart tin", but I think that means something different in the UK than it does here. After watching a few episodes of Great British Bake Off where they make deep dish pies/tarts, the tins they use are very deep indeed and have straight sides as opposed to the sloped sides of the conventional pie plates we use here. This meant that my tart didn't have the expected capacity and I couldn't fit all the custard in the shell, which probably threw off the balance of the recipe a bit. I guess I'll try using a springform pan next time and see if that makes a difference.

Onion Tart

Slightly adapted from The Book of Old Tarts by Elizabeth Hodder

Ingredients

• 225g savoury/plain shortcrust pastry
• 1 Tbsp. fresh thyme
• 1 egg white
• 25g unsalted butter
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 8 onions, peeled and sliced
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 425mL heavy (35%) cream
• pinch of saffron

Directions

1. Lightly flour your work surface and sprinkle with thyme.
2. Roll out the pastry on the prepared surface.
3. Line a 9" (23cm) springform pan with the pastry.
4. Prick pastry all over with a fork and brush with egg white.
5. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 25 minutes.
6. Melt butter and oil over medium heat.
7. Add onion and sprinkle with salt and sugar.
8. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
9. Remove lid and cook for another 10 minutes.
10. Stir in nutmeg and ginger, then remove from heat.
11. Beat the eggs with the extra yolks and season with salt and pepper.
12. Add the saffron to the cream and gently warm over medium-low heat until just steaming.
13. Add warm cream to beaten eggs in a thin stream while whisking.
14. Spoon the onion mixture into the baked pie shell.
15. Pour the custard over the onions.
16. Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 25 minutes.
17. Serve warm.

Potato, Spinach, and Raisin Tart (Quiche)

Wow! This one was good! I have to admit, I was dubious of the raisins in this combo, but it really worked. Only thing I'd do differently next time is to be a bit more diligent about pressing excess liquid out of the various components before they go into the pie shell. The end result was slightly soupy (although still totally delicious).

Potato, Spinach, and Raisin Tart

Slightly adapted from the Book of Old Tarts by Elizabeth Hodder

Ingredients

• 225g shortcrust pastry (homemade or store-bought)
• 25g salted butter
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil¹ (optional)
• 2 leeks (white part only) or 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 4 tsp. garlic paste (or 3 cloves garlic, crushed)
• 3 medium-sized potatoes, thinly sliced
• salt and pepper
• 220g spinach, rinsed and trimmed²
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 55g raisins
• 140g grated Cheddar cheese
• 4 eggs
• 200mL table (18%) cream³

Directions

1. Line a 9" deep dish pie plate with the pastry and blind bake at 400°F (200°C) for 20 minutes.
2. Remove the pie weights and parchment paper and return the pie shell to the over for 5 minutes.
3. Melt the butter over medium heat (with oil, if using)
4. Add the onions or leeks and cook until softened.
5. Add the garlic and cook until just starting to brown. Remove from heat and set aside.
6. Bring some water to a boil and add the potatoes.
7. Season water with a bit of salt and boil for 5 minutes.
8. Remove potatoes from water with slotted spoon, season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
9. Add the spinach to the boiling water and cook for 1 minute.
10. Remove spinach from water and drain, squeezing out a much liquid as possible.
11. Sprinkle spinach with the nutmeg and set aside.
12. Add the raisins to the hot water and let them soak for a few minutes.
13. Drain the raisins, dry off, and set aside.
14. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
15. Sprinkle ~60g of the cheese over the base of the baked pie shell.
16. Spread half the potatoes over this.
17. Spread half the spinach over the potatoes.
18. Sprinkle half the raisins over the spinach.
19. Repeat the layers once more.
20. Top with the sautéed onion and garlic mixutre.
21. Whisk the eggs with the cream and season with salt and pepper.
22. Slowly and carefully pour the the egg mixture into the pie, giving it time to percolate down through the various layers.
23. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
24. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 40 minutes.

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Variants

Lighter Version

Ingredients

• 15g salted butter
• 2 leeks (white part only) or 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 4 tsp. garlic paste (or 3 cloves garlic, crushed)
• 3 medium-sized potatoes, thinly sliced
• salt and pepper
• 250g spinach, rinsed and trimmed
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 55g raisins
• 100g grated (low-fat) Cheddar cheese
• 1 egg
• 4 egg whites
• 200mL milk
• 2 Tbsp. flour

Directions

1. Cook and prepare fillings as above.
2. Grease a 9" deep dish pie plate.
3. Sprinkle 40g of cheese in the bottom of the pie plate.
4. Spread half the potatoes over this.
5. Spread half the spinach over the potatoes.
6. Sprinkle half the raisins over the spinach.
7. Repeat the layers.
8. Spread the onion mixture over top.
9. Whisk together egg, egg whites, milk, and flour.
10. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
11. Slowly pour the egg mixture over the fillings, giving it time to seep in.
12. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 40 minutes.

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¹ I actually completely forgot the oil. I don't think it really missed the extra fat though. I probably won't bother with the oil next time either. ^Back
2 The original recipe calls for 450g of spinach, but I only had 220g and I found that to be enough. I think more would've been fine, but it definitely would've required a larger pie plate. ^Back
3 The original calls for 225mL of cream, but I couldn't quite fit all of the egg-cream mixture into the filled pie, so I'd try it with slightly less cream next time. ^Back

I'm not really awake enough to do a proper write-up for this right now. It's a quiche. It uses a mix of whole eggs and egg whites to lighten it up a bit, both in mouthfeel and calories. It's easy and tasty. You can have a generous portion without guilt. And it's actually got a good amount of protein in it. Win.

CrustlessAppleand Roasted Fennel Quiche

From some "healthy living" calendar I got as a freebie at the grocery store

Ingredients

• 3 c. diced fennel
• 2 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper, divided
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 eggs
• 6 egg whites
• 1 c. skim milk
• 1 apple, grated (do not peel)
• 1/2 c. grated low-fat Swiss cheese

Directions

1. Toss diced fennel in 1 Tbsp. canola oil and season with 1/8 tsp. pepper.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and roast fennel for 25 minutes at 400°F.
3. Sauté the onion in the remaining Tbsp. canola oil until softened. Set aside.
4. Whisk together eggs and egg whites.
5. Add milk and remaining 1/8 tsp. pepper to egg mixture.
6. Add roasted fennel, sautéed onions, grated apple, and cheese and stir to combine.
7. Transferto a greased deep-dish pie pan and bake for 35-40 minutes (at 400°F).