Crustless Broccoli Quiche for a Book Launch @LucyBurdette @onceuponachef

LUCY BURDETTE: This has been a very very very busy month! It all started with the launch of A POISONOUS PALATE on August 8. It’s my tradition by now to celebrate with a book party at our local independent bookstore, RJ Julia in Madison CT. This year, I noticed that my friend Sarah Stewart Taylor also had a book coming out that same week, so I invited her to join me. Since the party started at 6:30, we would need to eat ahead of time—something delicious but not too demanding, that would feed the two of us plus my good friend Yvonne and hub John. I remembered trying a recipe for crustless broccoli quiche from one of my favorite chef/cookbook authors Once Upon a Chef. It was completely delicious as you will see in the last picture, and not too much trouble. I made a few tweaks based on my preferences and what I had on hand.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Half a cup chopped shallots, or red onion, or leeks, whatever you prefer

10 ounces broccoli florets 

1/2 teaspoon salt (I always cut salt in half)

Six large eggs

2 cups heavy or whipping cream.

Pinch ground nutmeg, if you choose

One quarter teaspoon cayenne pepper, more or less to taste

One and a half cups shredded cheese (she recommends Gruyere, I had French Emmental, but I think cheddar would be fine as well)

Cut the broccoli into florets. Chop the onions. Grate the cheese.

Sauté the onions in melted butter, add the broccoli along with a sprinkle of salt and 1/ 3rd cup of water. Steam this all together until the broccoli is beginning to soften.

Whisk the eggs together with the whipped cream, nutmeg, half teaspoon salt, and quarter teaspoon cayenne pepper.

In a buttered pie pan, spread the broccoli shallot mixture over the bottom. Sprinkle the cheese over the top, and carefully pour the egg mixture on top of that.

Bake for about an hour at 325 until the quiche is set and the top is beginning to brown. Cool for 10 minutes and serve. I served with a nice salad, but forgot to take a photo.

The book party was a big success too! (Do you have your copy already?)

Lucy Burdette writes the USA Today Bestselling food critic mystery series! You can find them wherever books are sold...

(Oh no, I'm missing a couple!)

Bacon Shitaki Crustless Quiche

Every week I buy shitaki mushrooms because they're supposed to be good for us. I have sauteed them and roasted them. I have thrown them in lasagna and soups. Every week I buy them again but we're so tired of them! I don't know what to do with them anymore. So today, I added them to a quiche - with bacon.

I'm not including instructions for cooking the bacon because everyone has their favorite way. I bake it in the oven on a rack so the grease can drip down beneath it. But any method will do. If you have leftover bacon, more power to you!

This quiche is quick and easy because there's no crust. That makes it more like a delicate frittata to me. In spite of the bold flavors of bacon, mushrooms, and onions, this quiche has a surprisingly delicate flavor. I didn't add any extra salt, though you certainly could, because I thought the grated Parmesan would add enough. Those into salt will miss it (so add it!) but I rather liked the taste.

I haven't bought whole milk in a long, long time, so I used fat-free milk with just 1/4 cup of heavy cream for a bit of indulgence. It's probably the equivalent of whole milk, so feel free to try that.

We didn't miss the crust at all! You could substitute another type of mushroom if you like. It set up nicely and would make a good breakfast, light dinner, or snack. If you save some bacon from breakfast, it will take almost no time to make it. Thinking of dinner at 9PM? No enthusiasm for cooking bacon? Substitute ham.

Bacon Shitaki Crustless Quiche

1 9.5 inch pie dish

8 slices cooked bacon
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-2 tablespoons butter, plus extra for greasing
1/2 onion, sliced
2 cups shitaki mushrooms
pinch of dried sage
4 eggs
1 cup fat-free milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, separated 2T + 2T
1/4 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350. Grease the pie dish with butter.

Saute the onion in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. When it begins to soften, add the shitaki and the sage. Add a tablespoon or two of butter as necessary to cook.

Meanwhile, whisk the eggs with the milk, cream, and 2 tablespoons of Parmesan. Whisk in the flour.

When the mushrooms are cooked, chop or crumble the bacon and add it to the mushrooms. Turn to combine. Pour into the prepared pie pan. Pour the egg mixture over top of it. Sprinkle the top with the remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan.

Bake 35-40 minutes or until lightly brown on top.

I like to bake bacon in the oven.

Cook onions and shitaki mushrooms with sage.

Yum, bacon!

Mix bacon with onions and mushrooms.

The Zucchini Thief

Does anyone else think that sounds like the title of a French novel?

I'm always a little late getting our garden started. I see people planting their vegetable gardens in April but our area is prone to frost right up to May 15th. So I guess I'm not so much late as they are early.



I bought three zucchini plants and four yellow squash plants. They're blooming, and I finally saw our first little zucchini. I watched it, planning to use it in this dish. But last night, when I went to collect it, someone beat me to it. Now I'm not naming names but the guilty party knew a crime had been committed and ran like the dickens. Half of the purloined zucchini was left behind and consumed by his accomplice who undoubtedly intended to get rid of the evidence.

You remember these guys. Thief and accomplice are in this photo.

But drat the luck. The yellow squashes are blooming and developing and – they sure look like zucchini to me! LOL! You might be seeing a *lot* of zucchini recipes from me this summer.

The look huge in this picture! They were about 3 inches long!

Consequently, I used three teensy baby zucchinis in this dish. I'm not quite sure what to call it. One of my friends recently made a quiche in which she used no crust but she poured something over the top that sort of made a crust. Must get that recipe from her! So I had a crustless quiche in mind but when I made this, I thought it was really more like a pan-less frittata.

Technically, I believe a quiche is supposed to be made with a savory custard. While this is very good, and we snarfed it up, I don't think simply adding milk to the eggs before baking constitutes a custard. On the other hand, there are baked custards. Anyone have opinions?

In my Domestic Diva Mysteries, people often write letters like this to Sophie.

Dear Sophie,

My evil mother-in-law never gives me more than an hour advance notice when she's coming over. It puts me in a tizzy because I never know whether to clean or to make something to serve her. We won't even mention getting dressed. I've entertained her in my bathrobe more than once. I have begged her to please let me know when she's coming so that I can prepare something nice. I think she takes delight in her surprise inspections.

~Tired Daughter-in-Law in a Bathrobe That Needs Washing
 
 
Dear Tired Daughter-in-Law,

Tell hubby to clean (after all, it's his mom), make a crustless quiche, and you'll still have time to ditch the dirty bathrobe. The wonderful aroma will bowl her over when she walks in the door. It can be made from items in the fridge and takes almost no time to put together.

~Sophie

Sophie's Tip: Use your vegetable peeler to slice cheese quickly!

This is just the kind of recipe Sophie is talking about. It's yummy for a quick brunch, lunch, or dinner, even if you don't have an evil mother-in-law!

Crustless Quiche/Pan-less Frittata

one deep dish pie pan

butter for greasing pan
1 cup thinly sliced zucchini
1/2 cup chopped ham (or bacon!)
1/3 cup thinly sliced cheese (I used Asiago)

5-6 eggs (use 5 if they're large or extra large)
1 teaspoon pink sea salt
pepper to taste
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/3 teaspoon sage
2/3 cup milk and heavy cream combined (I just used a splash of cream)

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese


Preheat oven to 375. Grease the pan with butter. Combine the zucchini, ham, and cheese in a bowl and mix. Spread in the bottom of the pie pan.

Whisk the eggs with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and sage. Add the milk/cream and whisk to combine. Pour gently over the contents of the pie pan so you don't dislodge anything. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top.

Bake 45 minutes.

Mix ham, zucchini, and cheese,

Spread in greased pan.

Pour egg/milk mixture over everything.

SprinkleParmesan cheese on top.

In bookstores now!