Weekends are about treats. And while it also the time we take to make many things to fill the Sunday lunch or dinner table – often with no space left to actually sit and eat at the table – it is also the time that some of us take to cut back on the cooking. That’s me these days. I find myself making certain things that I can nosh on in various ways and yet feel like I am have having something different. Last weekend, it was crustless quiche.
You might ask, isn’t a crustless quiche really a frittata? The answer is yes. And a frittata is everything you love about a quiche without the crust. Confused? Don’t be. Quiche is a French tart made of a pastry crust filled with a savoury custard of eggs and cream, cheese, meat, seafood, or vegetables. On the other hand, a frittata is an Italian egg-based dish of meats, cheese, or vegetables; think of it as a really large omelette. Apart from the crust difference, frittatas contain very little milk or cream dairy. It is for this reason – the quantity of the dairy component – that I am calling the dish I made a crustless quiche.
Very easy to prepare, a crustless quiche is one of those dishes that you can use for any meal: breakfast, brunch, lunch, tea, dinner. As a main meal, I had mine with a tossed green salad. When I had it for brunch, I chopped up a piece of the cold leftover quiche like a scramble and made a wrap along with crisp lettuce and dressed everything with a cooked homemade salsa. For breakfast and for dinner another night, I cut slices of the cold quiche and reheated them in a pan to form a crust and sandwiched them between bread.
The base ingredients for this crustless quiche are eggs and milk (use full cream/cull fat evaporated). The other ingredients are up to your personal taste and whatever you have available. Use any type of hard or melting cheese that you have; if smoked cheese is available, definitely add some. For meats – bacon and other cured meats like ham, sausages (cured or if fresh, par cook before adding to the quiche), leftover meats from roasts can be chopped up, canned meats such spam or luncheon meats. Really, whatever you have on hand. For vegetables, I have a preference for broccoli when making this dish but spinach (callaloo), corn, sweet peppers, carrots, green peas, and tomatoes are all excellent additions. For aromatics, keep it simple, onions, scallions (green onions), chives and minced hot peppers will do the work.
For added flavour, be sure to parcook the vegetables by giving them a quick sauté with onions, salt and pepper. If you want, at this stage, you can use your favourite or preferred dried seasoning blend such as an all-purpose seasoning, Cajun seasoning, etc.
Ready to give the crustless quiche a try? Here’s how I made mine. Remember, adapt to suit your taste and preference.
Crustless Broccoli Quiche
Yield: 1 x 9-inch dish or 1 – 8 x 8-inch dish
INGREDIENTS
● 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
● ¾ cup finely chopped onions
● Minced hot peppers to taste
● 4 cups chopped broccoli florets
● Salt to taste
● ⅓ cup of water
● 6 large eggs, room temperature
● 1 cup full-fat/full cream evaporated milk
● Freshly ground black pepper to taste
● ¼ teaspoon fine table salt
● 1 heaped cup chopped cured pork
sausage (optional)
● 3 whole scallions, thinly sliced
(white/purple & green parts)
● 1½ cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
DIRECTIONS
1. Brush the ovenproof baking dish with oil and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees with the rack in the middle.
3. Heat oil in pan over medium heat and when hot, add onions and pepper, toss to mix, reduce heat to low and cook until onions are soft and translucent (do not let them develop a colour).
4. Raise heat back to medium and add broccoli, season with salt, and toss to mix with onions. Add water, stir, and cook until all the water is gone; toss gently in between cooking. Remove from heat and set aside.
5. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and black pepper along with ¼ tea spoon salt. Mix well to blend the ingredients; set aside.
6. To assemble the quiche, start by spreading the broccoli and all its drippings in an even layer covering the base of the dish. Scatter the sausage and scallions over the broccoli in an even layer. Sprinkle the cheese in an even layer.
7. Pour the egg mixture over the assembled ingredients; use a dinner knife to gently move the ingredients helping the custard to filter down.
8.Transfer to oven and bake for 50 minutes or until the custard is set, and the top is golden brown. Remove from heat and place on a wire rack to cool. Let cool for 15 – 20 minutes before cutting.
Enjoy!
Cynthia
