Appetizers and Snacks . Baking

Vegetable quiche

On May 13, 2012 by

This is another one of those lost recipes which I found in my folder, written way back in August 2011! I found it so funny reading it that I decided not to change the post. So here it is:

“I have been missing since a few days not because I haven’t been cooking but because I have been cooking a LOT and I didn’t know which recipe to put up here! So A finally graduated, and as I had been planning since the last couple of days, we had a little party. The menu was vegetable quiche, fried chicken and cake for dessert. I will be posting the recipes for the all of them one by one, and today let’s start with the quiche.
Quiche is an open pie dish where veggies or meat are added to an egg and cream mixture and baked in a pastry crust. You can get the crust seperately in the market and use that too, but I decided to make it from scratch and it turned out great. It’s not a difficult dish but the prep takes time. You can use other vegetables of your choice and even minced meat for a non-vegetarian option.”
LOL

For crust:
Prep time: 2 hours Baking time: 8 minutes
Ingredients:
Flour: 1 1/2 cupsCold butter: 1 stick or 8 tbsp
Egg: 1
Sour cream: 1 tsp
Salt: 1/2 tsp

Method:
1) Mix flour and salt. Cut butter into small pieces. Mix it with the flour. resulting in a crumbly texture.
(Don’t overmix the butter, you want some tiny pieces to remain as it adds to the flakiness of the crust. This is the reason melted or room temperature butter is not used.)
2) Beat an egg and pour it in the middle of the flour and mix it. Add the sour cream and keep mixing until a dough is formed. You can add a few drops of water if required to make the dough more pliable
(The amount of flour can be decreased or increased slightly depending on the size of your pan.)
3) Cover the dough in plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge for 30 min to 1 hour. Take it out and let it rest for 10 minutes before you roll it. You can freeze any leftover portion and use it for your crust the next time.

4) Place rolled pie dough on a greased pan and punch holes in the crust. Bake it for 8 minutes at 400 degrees F before you take it out and pour any pie or quiche filling.

(Note: Some recipes suggest not pricking the crust and instead placing heavy foil in the shape of the crust over it while baking it. Others also suggest placing some dry beans over the foil to weigh it down. I have never tried these and the crust always comes out fine. In fact, many times I have not baked the crust at all before adding the filling! But there was no change in texture; the crust was flaky and the filling set just perfectly. I mentioned these tips in case you want to try it out.)

For filling: 
Prep time: 10 min Cooking time: 5 min

Ingredients:
Sliced onion: 1 small Finely chopped garlic: 2 cloves
Finely chopped ginger: 1/2-inch piece
Chopped spinach: 1/2 cup
Sliced mushrooms (I used cremini): 1/2 cup
Chopped green onions: 1 stalk
Chopped green beans: 1/4 cup
Chopped red bell peppers: 1/4 cup
Chopped carrots: 1
Eggs: 3 large, beaten
Whipping cream: 1 cup
Milk: 1/4th cup
Cheddar cheese: 1/4th cup
Parmesan cheese: 1/4th cup
Cream cheese (optional): Half of an 8-ounce packet
Butter: 1 tbsp
Cumin powder: 1/2 tsp
Pepper: 1 tsp
Salt

Method:
1) In a pan heat, oil and saute the onions, garlic and ginger. Add mushrooms, carrots, red bell peppers, green beans, green onions and spinach.
2) Saute the vegetables for five minutes with some salt, pepper and cumin powder.
3) Cut the cream cheese into bite-size pieces and keep aside.
4) Beat eggs and add milk and whipping cream into it.
5) Now there are two choices:
* Prepared pie crust, either bought from the market or that you already baked: Place the cream cheese pieces, sauted vegetables on the prepared crust and pour the egg and cream mixture on it.
Or
* Unprepared pie crust, which I usually do: Grease a pan and place the rolled pie dough on it, punch holes, lightly grease with butter and place the cream cheese pieces in it. Add the sauted vegetables and pour the egg and cream mixture.
(You can choose any one of the two steps depending on what crust you have.) 




6) Sprinkle cheese on top and bake it in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes.

7) Check with a toothpick and take it out of the pan when cool.

Servings: 6-8 slices

Written by

Meghalee Das is a former journalist, who occasionally writes as a freelancer. She loves traveling, camping, hiking, kayaking, gardening and of course, cooking. Currently she is doing her MBA from Texas State University and updates her blog whenever she gets the time!