This is a quiche of culinary giants.
The filling for this savory tart is a variation on Craig Claiborne’s famous Quiche Lorraine filling and the crust is from Ina Garten. It doesn’t get a lot better (or bigger) than that.
You can find the links to the original recipes here and here.
Quiche, by the way, certainly has medieval origins in Europe, probably in the Alsace-Lorraine region that straddles the French-German border. It may have much earlier origins in the baked cheesecakes of ancient Rome.
Among purists, like the Association for the Protection of the Quiche (Yes. There is such an association.), the pie must always have three ingredients: eggs, cream and salt. No cheese is involved. For the rest of us, the variations, of course, are endless.
If you need a good laugh while enjoying your quiche, you might consider the fact that in French slang the word “quiche” refers to someone who is clueless or a bit of a fool.
Don’t you be a quiche, though. Give this delicious savory pie a go and enjoy the results.
Here are the recipes as I prepared them in my kitchen.
Broccoli, Cheese and Onion Quiche
Ingredients
- For the Crust:
- 1/2 C. ice water
- 12 T. unsalted butter (very cold--I chilled mine in the freezer)
- 3 C. all-purpose flour
- 1 T. sugar
- 1 t. kosher salt
- 1/3 C. vegetable shortening (very cold--I chilled mine in the freezer)
- For the filling
- 1 onion (thinly sliced and sauteed in butter and olive oil until translucent)
- 1 C. Gruyere cheese (grated)
- 1/4 C. Parmesan cheese (grated)
- 4 large eggs (lightly beaten)
- 1 C. heavy cream
- 1 C. half and half
- 1/4 t. nutmeg
- 1/2 t. salt
- 1/4 t. ground pepper
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1/4-1/2 C. chopped steamed broccoli
Directions
- Step 1 To make the crust, measure the flour, sugar, salt into the bowl of your food processor. Pulse to mix. Add the frozen butter and frozen shortening to the bowl. Pulse. With the processor running, add the ice water, pulsing the mixture until it forms a dough ball. Remove from the processor and form the dough into a ball. (Do this on a floured flat surface.) Wrap in plastic wrap and chill the dough in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
- Step 2 When you are ready to make the quiche, remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll into a circle a couple inches larger than the quiche pan you plan to use. Gently place the dough into the dish, crimping the edges of the dough. Fill the dish with crumpled parchment and baking weights or dried beans. Chill for about 10 minutes in the refrigerator.
- Step 3 In a preheated 375 degree oven, bake the crust for about 10 or 15 minutes. Remove from oven and remove the baking weights. Reduce oven temperature to 350 and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on your counter.
- Step 4 To make the filling, saute thinly-sliced onions in butter and olive oil until the onions are soft and translucent. Set aside.
- Step 5 Combine eggs, cream and half and half, nutmeg, salt, pepper and pinch of cayenne pepper in a mixing bowl. Whisk. Set aside.
- Step 6 Arrange sauteed onions in the bottom of the baked quiche shell along with the chopped steamed broccoli. Cover with grated cheeses.
- Step 7 Strain the cream mixture over the onion/broccoli/cheese mixture.
- Step 8 Bake in a preheated oven for about 50 minutes. Your quiche will be puffed and browned and firm when it is done. Remove from oven and let your quiche cool on the counter for about 10 minutes before serving. The puffiness of the quiche will fall as the quiche cools.
