Charlie’s quite fond of quiches. They’re also quite easy to make. (Even I have been know to try one from time to time…even with a bit of broccoli in it!) The basic recipe I take out of The Joy of Cooking, but the rest of it I make up as I go. Also, I know lots of people find pie crusts difficult…unfortunately I have no magic solution. Just practice…and don’t expect it to be pretty at first. I’m still working on that as well. Just go for flavor first, and for a crust that doesn’t leak the insides. As far as I can tell, the look of it just takes time. :)
Quiche
Ingredients
Crust:
(This is just half of the original recipe because you only want a bottom crust.)
1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp white sugar or 1/2 tbsp powdered sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick COLD unsalted butter
1/8 cup solid vegetable shortening
Filling:
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 and 1/2 cups half and half or heavy cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
Pinch freshly grated or ground nutmeg
Other ingredients as desired
I used broccoli, mushrooms, swiss cheese, ham, grated fresh ginger and fresh rosemary.
Method
Preheat oven to 375*F
Crust:
~ Using a rubber spatula, mix the flour, sugar and salt.
~ Cut the butter into 1/4 inch pieces and using a pastry blender (or two knives) cut the butter into the dry mixture. Then add the shortening and do the same. Keep chopping until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces.
~Drizzle over the mixture 1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp ice water. Cut with the blade side of the spatula until the mixture looks evenly moistened. Press down on the dough with the flat side of the spatula. If the balls of dough stick together, you have added enough water; if they do not, drizzle over the top 1 to 2 tbsp ice water and cut it into the mixture again. (I ordinarily find I do have to add the extra water. I’ve tried not to on many occasions, however the dough never adheres well enough.)
~Press the dough into a round flat disk and wrap tightly in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, preferably for several hours, or for up to 2 days before rolling. The dough can also be wrapped air tight and frozen for up to 6 months. thaw completely before rolling.
~Roll the dough and fit it into the pie pan. (I usually had to estimate how large to roll it, until I purchased a pastry mat. I bought this because it made clean up much easier, and because the mat shows the diameters of various crust sizes and therefore makes rolling much easier.)
Filling:
~Grate cheese over the bottom of the crust (if using cheese).
~Mix the eggs, cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg with a whisk.
~ Sauté the veggies. (I first filmed the frying pan with a bit of olive oil, added the fresh grated ginger and rosemary and sauted just slightly. Then I added the broccoli and mushrooms and sauted until the broccoli was bright green.)
~Add the veggies and ham on top of the cheese in the crust. Then pour in the egg mixture.
~Finally I grated some more Swiss over the top.
~Bake for 25-35 minutes, until the filling is browned and set. (With any pie crust, the edges may brown faster than the filling bakes. If you are concerned about this, cover the edge of the crust with some tin foil before putting in the oven. You can add it later, but, as the pan is quite hot by that point, it becomes quite difficult.)
