It's starting to feel like fall outside a bit this weekend, and I started an herb garden in the backyard. So, of course, I was looking to bake a comforting and savory dish and landed on the quiche Lorraine. This quiche is baked in a tart dish, which gives you more crust, and the eggs are whipped with cream or half-and-half before baking, giving them a more custard-like texture than a classic baked egg approach. My recipe is a veggie version of a more traditional quiche Lorraine, which typically incorporates bacon grease for cooking onions and bacon inside the dish. I also invite you to be creative with the veggies you choose, and add in whatever your heart desires!
Makes 1 quiche (about 8 servings) in an 11 inch tart dish
For the crust: 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
9 tbsp butter (1 stick + 1 tbsp), cold
1/4 tsp salt
4 tbsp ice water
Combine flour and salt in a medium mixing bowl or food processor. Cut butter into small pieces or grate into flour and salt. Using a pastry blender or food processor, mix or pulse until mixture resembles coarse sand. Add ice water and blend by hand until a ball of dough forms. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour until ready to roll out.
Roll out dough on a floured surface until about 1/8 inch thick into an oval or circular shape. Roll dough up onto rolling pin, then lightly lay dough over tart dish, gently pressing the sides into the shape of the tin. Double up the edges of the crust using excess dough. Using the rolling pin, roll over the top of the tart pan to sever the edges of the excess dough. Prick the dough at the bottom of the pan with a fork. Cover with foil. Freeze dough in pie tin at least 1 hour before baking, or overnight.
Baking the dough: Preheat oven to 425 F. Remove foil and place a sheet of parchment paper inside the dough. Fill the sheet with pie weights for baking, and bake for 12 minutes. Remove weights and bake another 6-8 minutes, or until golden.
For the filling: 1 small/medium onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp butter
1 cup Swiss or gruyere cheese, grated
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
4 large eggs
2 cups heavy cream or half-and-half
2-3 sprigs fresh rosemary (stripped) or 1-2 tsp dried rosemary
Salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning to taste (I use about 1/2 tsp each)
Vegetables/herbs for topping: I used about 1/2 cup sliced variety cherry tomatoes and 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary. Be creative and use whatever you like!
Preheat oven to 325 F. In a saucepan, simmer onions and butter until onions are translucent and aromatic, about 5 minutes. In a medium bowl, beat eggs until blended with a whisk. Add cream or half and half and mix. Stir in salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning, and rosemary.
Spread onions and cheeses along bottom of quiche dish. Pour in egg/cream mixture on top.
Top with vegetables/herbs of your choice.
Place on a baking sheet, and bake for 45-55 minutes until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Enjoy!
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