4 Ways To Make A Tasty Quiche
Quiche is a reliable choice for weekend breakfasts or brunch, flanking a satisfying custard center with flaky, buttery crust. But, as Bon Appetit pointed out, many food enthusiasts find the dish a little boring. With a little creativity and the skills you learn from online baking courses, you can prove that this savory pie is still capable of being an exciting meal. Here are a few ideas you can try to bake a quiche that stands apart:
1. Use seasonal flavors
One simple way to keep your quiches interesting is to vary the ingredients by including seasonal produce. For instance, Cooking Light recommended preparing your pie with summer squash. The recipe starts with crafting a crust from a dough made with salt, flour, salt, butter, vegetable shortening and ice water.
After rolling out the dough and chilling it, place it in a pie plate. Bake the crust in an oven set to 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven to cool and bring the temperature down to 350 degrees while getting the filling ready.
Saute zucchini, squash, shallots and thyme in extra-virgin olive oil for about five minutes. Remove the mixture from heat, and whisk together a cup of milk with eggs, cooked bacon crumbles, salt and black pepper. Place the vegetable mixture in the crust, adding a sprinkling of mozzarella cheese and pouring the egg mixture on top. Bake the quiche for about 45 minutes and allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving.
2. Make it extra-rich
Pour on the flavor to craft a quiche that will have guests cutting off a second slice. Once Upon a Chef gave directions for a spinach and gruyere variation that will definitely do the job. It calls for sauteing a half cup of sliced shallots for eight minutes and using them to cover the bottom of the crust.
Throw on some chopped spinach and sprinkle a cup of grated Gruyere. Then, add an egg mixture featuring heavy cream, nutmeg, salt and cayenne pepper. The custard should set after 50 minutes or so in an oven set to 325 degrees.
3. Go mini
Add portability and novelty to your pies with a recipe provided by the Food Network’s Marcela Valladolid. Rather than one full-size crust, you’ll make six small ones in tartlet pans. This unique take on quiche also features bold flavors inspired by Mexican cuisine.
Those tastes begin with chorizo, cooked until crisp. The filing also includes Mexican crema, the Spanish sheep’s milk cheese manchego, diced and boiled russet potatoes, milk and black pepper. Bake the miniature pies at 425 degrees for approximately 45 minutes, watching for them to puff up.
4. Skip the gluten
If you or a guest avoid eating gluten, that’s no reason you need to pass up quiche. Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food provided a ham and Swiss quiche that everyone will enjoy. It begins with preparing the dough using gluten-free flour. Then, combine olive oil, yellow onion, thyme, salt and pepper on a baking sheet.
Roll out the dough, and bake both the crust (on the bottom rack) and the onion (on the top rack) at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. Mix eggs with milk, salt and pepper before adding the onion, along with cubes of ham and shredded Swiss cheese. Pour the mixture into the crust and bake for 25 minutes.
If you’re ready to try your hand at a brunch classic, there are plenty of ways to make quiche your own. Try out different cheeses and vegetables, and you’ll soon find a spin that will impress even the most skeptical graduates of culinary arts programs.
