Improvising Quiche: Throwing Together Options from the Fridge and Pantry

One of my planned weekend projects is a quiche (a dish that I go to again and again for a vegetarian-friendly option). For me, one of the best things about a quiche as compared to its cousin, the frittata, is the crust. I love a good flaky pastry crust. I love the tender texture and buttery flavor. It’s almost enough for me to just eat crust with nothing in it.

My go-to crust recipe is Martha Stewart’s Pâte Brisée (pie crust en français), which has a good deal of butter. Each disc will store in the freezer for quite awhile, so it’s okay that each batch yields two crusts. When you’re ready to make your quiche, roll it out to about 3 inches more in diameter than your 9 or 10 inch pie plate (it will shrink while baking), flip it into the pie plate and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes with baking weights (baking beans work well, but honestly, I’ve even lined the pie crust with foil and then weighed it down with loose change–yes the monetary kind; just be sure to be careful when removing the change so you don’t burn yourself) and then 10 more minutes without the weights. Set aside the pie crust.

Fillings

A favorite filling for me is spinach (can be sauteed with shallots–yes, again with the shallots) and goat cheese. Of course, if you don’t have spinach, kale or arugula will work just as well. No goat cheese? Honestly, cream cheese or neuf-châtel is just fine.

A classic non-veg filling is ham and cheese for a quiche Lorraine, but considering all the protein from the eggs and cheese, I prefer a vegetable filling.

This weekend, my plan is portobello mushrooms (sliced and sauteed with shallots) along with gorgonzola cheese.

I don’t have any particular recommendation on volume for the filling, but I’d guess-timate that I usually go with what makes the pie crust look about 2/3 to 3/4 full.

Whatever your filling, a quick saute of the veggies and a crumble (or dollop) of the cheese will work just fine in any case. Be sure to evenly distribute the items in the pie crust.

Then beat 2 eggs with 1.5 cups of milk (I find soy milk works very well too) and pour it over the filling.

Return the whole thing to the oven for about 30 minutes or until the egg mixture is firm. Let it sit about 10 minutes to firm up before serving.

Serves 6.

Update: Because of the website reformat, I’ve lost some of the photos on the site including the ones that used to be above.