Quiche

Quiche! Its fun to say. Quiche! And it sounds fancy. “Oh, you’re having quiche? La-di-da!” Its french and so automatically sounds posh, and sophisticated, maybe even a bit intimidating. But really when you get down to the knitty gritty, it’s just egg pie. “Egg pie” does not sound fancy, sophisticated, intimidating, or even all that appealing, thats probably why the name never caught on.

Quiche makes a perfect easy meal, its healthy, delicious and it can be breakfast, lunch or dinner depending on what you chose to mix into it or pair it with. I’d like to tell you I often pair it with a side salad but reality is, 75% of the time its french fries.

If you want to bang out dinner a little faster, you could of course use a store-bought pie crust. I like a deep-dish quiche for dinners so I make my own crust and use my deepest pie plate. Also… why are there no truly “Deep-dish” premade pie crusts available?

Here we have given you a vegetarian option as well as a a meat option. Saute all your vegetables and meat before adding them to the egg mixture. You will add flavour, remove excess water that will otherwise make your quiche runny, and you can be sure the meat is adequately cooked.

Takes approximately 1-½ hours to prepare, including bake time.

Crust Ingredients:

1 cup	All Purpose Flour
½ cup	Butter
¼ tsp.	Salt
2 tbsp.	Cold Water

Vegetarian Bell Pepper and Mushroom Quiche Ingredients:

3	Eggs
1 cup	Milk
1	Large Bell Pepper
100 g	Button Mushrooms
75-100g	Spinach
½ tsp.	Salt
1 tbsp.	Olive Oil
1	Tomato (Optional)

Italian Sausage and Bell Pepper Quiche Ingredients:

3	Eggs
1 cup	Milk
1	Bell Pepper
2	Italian Sausage
75-100g	Spinach
¼ cup.	Grated Parmesan
1 tbsp.	Olive Oil
1	Tomato (Optional)

Directions:

Grate the cold butter into a large mixing bowl.
To the bowl add the flour and salt.
With a pastry cutter or with your hands combine the flour and butter until the butter is fully incorporated.
Add the cold water and knead together the dough until it forms a ball.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Slice mushrooms (If applicable) and dice the peppers.
Preheat a dry skillet.
Rinse the spinach and without drying, chop quickly into shreds and add to the hot skillet and cover.
When the spinach has wilted, about 30 seconds to 1 minute, remove from the skillet and set aside.
- When the spinach has cooled enough to handle, gently squeeze out any extra water.
To the skillet add the oil, heat on high and then add the remaining vegetables.
Sauté the vegetable for 3 to 4 minutes, until they have gone soft and released most of their excess water. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
Squeeze the sausage from its casing and fry in the skillet until cooked through, breaking the meat apart as you cook it so as to resemble ground beef. (If applicable)
Preheat the oven to 350⁰
On a floured work surface, roll out the pastry dough.
Grease and line a pie dish or tart pan.
Lay the dough into the pie tin, trim the excess dough from the edge and poke several holes with a fork.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown. Check after 3 or 4 minutes and using a fork pop any large bubbles that may have risen on the surface.
After you have removed the pastry from the oven, increase the oven heat to 400⁰
In a mixing bowl;
- Whisk together the eggs and milk.
- Add the salt or Parmesan, as applicable.
- Add the spinach and additional vegetables and stir to combine.
Into the baked pastry crust, add the sausage and distribute evenly. (If Applicable)
Pour the egg mixture into the pastry crust.
Top with thin slices of tomato as garnish if desired.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the filling is firm to the touch and golden brown on top.