the trustees of reservations
The KITCHEN
at Boston Public Market
Managed and run by The Trustees

Upcoming Programs | Visit the KITCHEN


Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Quiche Broken Down

One of my favorite foods is quiche, it contains major food groups (veggie, protein, fat/starch), is versatile and delicious.  But what makes a quiche so good and can it be the latest food trend?  

Quiche is simply an open face savory pie with European origins and became popular in the US in the 1950s.  The exact origin is up for debate; it is most commonly thought that quiche started in France, due to the popular quiche lorraine however other internet sites say that quiche was first made in Germany (1).   

What is the best part to a quiche? The crust, custard or fillings?

Interestingly the crust was originally a bread dough and later morphed into a pie or pasty dough which we continue to use today.  Now, I’ve cheated with this recipe by using a frozen store bought pie crust (I know, I know) but it makes the process a bit faster and clean up much easier.  Sandy Ruffin will be teaching how to make pie dough from scratch during a quiche class in the Kitchen, so turn to her for tips!
File_000.jpeg
Next you need to think about fillings.  You want cohesive flavors and not too many to overcrowd the space, otherwise anything goes.  Classics include ham and cheese, broccoli and cheddar, mushroom and gruyere, bacon and swiss but try getting out of the box and use goat cheese with veggies or fill it with seafood (crab, shrimp, scallops). Fillings need to be dried (think sopping wet spinach) otherwise the extra moisture will interfere with the custard.

File_001.jpeg
File_002.jpeg














The trickiest part is getting the custard right.  You want it to be smooth and creamy, not over cooked and dried out (like bad scrambled eggs).  After lots of recipe perusal,  you ideally want 1 part egg to 2 parts milk which tends turn into 2 eggs per cup of milk.  Now what type of milk… a fatty milk will usually lead to a more rich custard (this isn’t a diet food!) and I tend to use 1 part 2% milk and 1 part half and half.  In a pinch, use what you have but keep a mental tally of which quiches you liked best and what type of milk product you used. After baking, let it sit a little before cutting into it.  Happy quiche-ing!!

File_003.png

Ingredients:
Pie crust of your choice
½ cup chopped onion
1 ½ cup broccoli
S&P, any herbs (we used dried oregano)
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
¾ cup 2% milk
¾ cup half and half
4 eggs (room temp helps)

Preheat oven to 350.  Place your prepared crust (whether if be store bought or homemade and in your pie plate) on a baking pan which helps to collect any over spill from flowing into your clean oven.  Sautee your vegetables/fillings, in this case onions and broccoli, in a little oil or butter, add some S&P and herbs for flavor. (If you’re using seafood or bacon, you definitely want to cook it before adding it to the quiche). Allow the fillings to cool a little while you whisk together the milk products and eggs.  Spread your fillings out in the pie crust, top with your cheese, then slowly pour your custard over the whole area, making sure it is evenly distributed.  Bake in the oven for 30-50min… you want the top to brown and set.  Remove from heat and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.

File_004.jpegFile_005.jpeg

  1. http://www.foodreference.com/html/artquiche.html


No comments:

Post a Comment