I’d never had quiche at all before last week, but it sure sounded like an interesting idea — savory custard cheese pie?  Ginny says quiche is great?  Sure, let’s give it a shot.  😀  I didn’t like the sound of quiche lorraine, though; cream and eggs and bacon sounded way too heavy for my often-fickle belly.  So a vegetable quiche was the order of the day.  It’s quite filling; one or two slices of this, and I’m full and happy.  🙂

You’ll want a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom to make this recipe (or any quiche, really).  I’ve read that some people just use a pie tin, but I think that would make the filling uneven; the ingredients need to be layered flat and the custard mixture poured over them.  Also, the removable bottom makes it a dream to get the finished pie out of its tin.

One other thing you don’t actually need to make this recipe is this spiral cutter, that cuts veggies into long pasta-like spirals.  This is what I used to make the large curls of zucchini on top of the quiche.  It’s a great little tool if you want to make “noodles” out of squash, something my sister does pretty often now since we figured out she can’t tolerate corn.

Last but not least, you want to make sure to reheat the quiche in the oven, not the microwave.  This makes sure the custard doesn’t try any funny business, and keeps the crust from getting soggy, so really, it’s win-win.  But let’s get on to the quiche.  🙂

Vegetable Quiche

Yield:  1 9-inch pie

Ingredients:

• 1 gluten-free pie crust
• 3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 2 T grated parmesan cheese
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp sage
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground mustard
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup chopped white onion
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1 chopped green onion
• 1 small (or 1/2 large) grated carrot
• 1/2 cup chopped spinach OR 1/2 cup grated or “noodled” zucchini

Directions:

1.  The day before, make the pie crust dough, as explained here.  Once the dough is ready, lightly grease the tart pan, roll out the crust 1/8″ thick, and fit the crust to the tart pan.  Cover and put back in the fridge to chill again.

2.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Farenheit.  While it’s heating, prep your vegetables (white onion, garlic, red bell pepper, green onion, carrot, spinach/zucchini), then mix them together in a small bowl and set aside.  Once the oven’s hot, put the empty pie crust in to bake for 15 minutes or so.  This is called “blind baking” and will make it less likely the bottom crust of the quiche will be soggy.  (It’s also a good idea to put the tart pan on a cookie sheet in case the custard leaks during baking later on!)

3.  As the crust bakes, whisk together the cream and eggs in a medium bowl.  Then, whisk in the seasonings (sage, thyme, nutmeg, black pepper, ground mustard, and salt).  Finally, in another small bowl, mix together the cheddar and parmesan cheeses.

4.  Once the crust is ready, take it out of the oven.  Carefully, spread the veggie mixture evenly over the bottom, then sprinkle the cheeses evenly over the veggies, then pour the seasoned cream-and-eggs over both.  Finally, gently lay the spinach-or-zucchini on top, letting it sink down just a little.  Put the filled pie crust back in the hot oven to bake for another 35 minutes.

5.  Take the baked custard out and let it cool.  (It should be solid to the touch in the very middle, and a very light golden-brown on top.)  Once the quiche is cool enough to handle, very gently press up on the removable bottom from below, and gently work the quiche out of the edge piece of the tart pan.  Now it’s ready to slice and serve!  🙂