Brunch is in. Especially with two small children, it is much easier time to get together with friends than dinner. So, when in need of a brunch item, here is a trusty quiche. I have done a post on quiche before if you want the ins and out, the dos and don’ts check it out. For this beauty I decided to do crustless for a few reasons. One: I didn’t have time to make a crust; two: we were going to be eating the quiche with lots of buttery pastries and I thought it would be best to cut simple carbs and added fat where it wasn’t needed. I do love a good crust, but for this instance it was unnecessary.
This is a rich, savory quiche, stuffed with vegetables and topped with a bit of cheese. It has an added bonus of being gluten free. It was super fast, one pan, and traveled perfectly to our friends where we were having brunch.
Crustless Quiche
Ingredients
2 TBL olive oil
1 large yellow or white onion, sliced
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon pepper, plus more to taste
A few tablespoons chopped fresh herbs, or a few teaspoons dried herbs
3 to 4 cups chopped vegetables (I used Kale, Mushrooms, and zucchini)
6 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk (I used unsweetened plain almond milk)
1 cup grated cheese (I used goat guda)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat.
Add the olive oil and swirl to coat the bottom and sides of the skillet.
Add the onion slices and sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper over them. Cook the onions until they are golden-brown and starting to caramelize, about 10 minutes.
Add the other vegetables and cook until liquid has been released and evaporated, 5 more minutes or so.
Remove the pan from the heat and spread the vegetables evenly across the bottom of the skillet.
In a bowl whisk the eggs and milk together until everything is uniformly yellow.
Add remaining salt, pepper, and any herbs you are using and whisk to combine.
Pour the egg mixture over the vegetable.
Sprinkle with grated cheese in an even layer over the top.
Transfer the quiche to the oven and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Once the surface is lightly brown all the way across and it is firm in the middle, it’s fully cooked.
Let the quiche cool for about 20 minutes, then slice into wedges.
I haven’t been very good at posting for the last few weeks. I’m sorry. I am struggling with cooker’s block. With everything that has been going on (new baby and all) it has been a bit of a cooking rut for me. I’m starting to break out and have been focusing on making some new recipes. It is a process to get them where I am comfortable posting them for your consumption. It is my New Year’s resolution to cook something new once a week. Please hold me to it.
For now I have some amazing standby recipes for your New Year’s Brunch. Tweet me @happyfoodninja if you have a substitution question because you are in your pajamas and can’t be bothered to go to the store for some crazy ingredient.
Easter is just over a week away! This year I’m trying to be a little bit proactive and give you a list of what to make early so you can make plans. Easter for me is a perfect day for brunch. I love brunch, and I really love to have people over for brunch. It is late enough to get all the cooking done, especially if you plan ahead, but early enough you get a good part of your day for other things, or for continuing to hang out with everyone you invited over and you still get a good night’s sleep! Brunch has to have a few savory items in my opinion, but is really just a late breakfast. My list includes everything I would like on one brunch table, but I would probably have to pick and choose a few of these if I was doing all the cooking myself. Good luck making your plans and happy eating!
I think this might be the first non-vegan recipe I have posted. It’s kind of scary to open myself to judgement as I switch to a non-vegan point of view. Historically this website has been totally vegan, though with the change a few months ago I decided to open the doors to no-vegan recipes. Personally I have gone through a process to make the decision to eat some animal products again, and it is a decision that works for me and my current lifestyle. When I do eat animal products I try to stay with “happy” animal products. I am working on a post about my food journey that will come soon.
I continue to eat vegan most of the time, though when I do venture out of my vegan ways this is one of my favorites. I think quiche is best when loaded with vegetables and baked in a perfectly flaky crust. Quiche is a dish that I have fond memories of from my childhood. We always had quiche for holiday brunch, and when we had people over for breakfast. It seems an impressive dish, but is actually easier than scrambled eggs!
What I love about quiche now is easy it is to throw together, that it feeds lots of people without slaving over a stove or worrying about timing eggs, and you can put whatever you have in your fridge, making it a delicious way to use up odds and ends. The only “hard” part of quiche is if you are making a homemade crust, and I made this sweet video to take the mystery out of that, so you are all set. I guess you could also buy a crust, it is up to you.
Wicked Easy Quiche
Ingredients
4 Happy Eggs (cage free, local, organic, from happy chickens)
3/4 cup unsweetened, plain, non-dairy milk
OR
3 Happy eggs
1 cup dairy milk
And
salt and pepper to taste
herbs to taste (I used fresh tyme and sage for this quiche)
spices to taste (I used smoked paprika, salt and pepper)
1-2 cups of chopped, cooked vegetables (I used kale, leeks, mushrooms, fennel, and little bit of red bell pepper for this one)
1/2-1 cup shredded happy cheese (I use goat gouda for this quiche)
Add milk, salt, pepper and whatever herbs and spices you are using mixing briefly.
Sprinkle the cheese evenly into the bottom of the prepared, unbaked pie crust.
Spread the cooked vegetables evenly over the cheese.
Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables and cheese.
Bake in the preheated oven for 45-60 minutes until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Discussion:
What is important for successful quiche?
Veggies
Cheese
Flavor
The custard (egg and milk mixture)
I I like to think of starting to build the flavor in quiche with the veggies accented by the cheese, herbs and spices, and all held together by the custard. Choose you vegetables based on either what you have, or a specific combination for a taste you are looking for. If it sounds like it would make a good omelette, it would make a good quiche.
How Does It All Work?
The Veggies
Your first layer of flavor.
Reallyany vegetables will work in this recipe; you can use as many or as few as you like. If you only do a little you might need to add more custard to fill the crust. I like mine stuffed with vegetables.
I love using greens such as spinach or kale, onions or something in that family (leeks, shallots, scallions), mushrooms, peppers, broccoli. Really whatever you like in the combination you like it. Somewhere between 1-2 cups of cooked vegetables per quiche.
Vegetables are the first layer of flavor, so choose those that you like together, chop them and cook them before adding them to the quiche. I usually saute mine.
When cooking the veggies you want to make sure they are just cooked as they will cook a little more as the quiche bakes.
You also want to start building flavor here while cooking the veggies. I usually add salt pepper, and finish with some fresh herbs if I have them. Dried are also good, but I add dried herbs while the veggies are cooking rather than at the end.
You can also use leftover cooked vegetables. Let’s say you had fajitas last night, chop up those leftovers and throw them in. Maybe it was steamed broccoli, or roasted asparagus; just toss it in.
Cheese
Adding a bit more flavor.
Almost any cheese you like should work fine here. Shredded is best as it will melt more evenly.
Add the cheese to the crust first and it will help create a barrier so the crust doesn’t get soggy from the filling.
Think about the cheese you might want on an omelette with the vegetables you chose, and use that cheese.
Somewhere between 1/2 and 1 cup of cheese is good. You can also mix types of cheeses here.
Herbs and spices
Keep building flavor
Fresh herbs are great in quiche, but if you don’t have them dried are fine. Don’t forget the salt and pepper!
Season every layer separately (vegetables, custard, even the crust if you are making it homemade).
I used thyme, sage, salt and pepper in my quiche today. Again, think of flavor profiles you like together and build a quiche based off those. Maybe basil and tomato with mozzarella, broccoli cheddar with just a little salt and pepper, mushrooms, spinach and swiss cheese with herbs de provence. Whatever sounds good.
The Custard
Holding it all together
You need something that holds it all together, and makes it, well, a quiche. The custard does this.
If you are using dairy milk 3 eggs to 1 cup milk works well, if you are using non-dairy milk then 4 eggs to 3/4 cup milk.
Sometimes I add too many vegetables and have to whisk another egg and pour it over the top to make sure the veggies are covered in the custard mixture.
Season this layer too; salt and pepper for sure, and a little bit of whatever herbs and spices you are using.
Happy Food Ninja 