Making Quiche

 

Quiche is a great way to use up leftover bits of veggies. This one has lots of ham chunks, spinach, bell peppers, garlic, and broccoli. It was delicious! 

Recipe for very large, deep dish 10" quiche: 

INGREDIENTS: 

8 eggs

1/2 cup whole or 2% milk, I also added a large dash of cream

3/4 teaspoon salt (I use only pink Himalayan salt)

1/8 teaspoon pepper

A pinch each of thyme, oregano

A large pinch of parsley 

A large fist full of chopped spinach, frozen or fresh 

A large fist full of chopped coloured bell peppers. (I especially like the yellow ones. They taste like pears.) 

6 large broccoli florets, finely chopped

2 cups of small chopped ham pieces 

1 can of mushrooms, finely chopped 

4 slices of bacon, lightly cooked and cup into tiny pieces (I use the scissors for bacon)

Enough grated cheese to thickly cover the bottom of the crust. (I like to use old cheddar) 

Pastry for one bottom crust

DIRECTIONS:  

When filling the pastry, leave about 1/2" space at the top at it will rise slightly when baking. You may have some filling left over, that doesn't fit into the pie. I drain as much liquid into the pie as i can and put the rest in a soup bag in the freezer. You can also just fridge it and use in omelettes. 

Cover with foil and bake at 425f for 10 mins. Cut opening in the foil to expose the egg portion, keeping the edges covered. Lower heat to 350f and bake until the center is stable. This usuallly takes another 40-45 mins, approx. If you want to bake it with convection, use 325f and bake a bit less time. Either one works fine. I have done both. When the center is no longer liquid and pastry has browned, it's done. I like to use a glass pan so I can lift it high and look at the bottom to make sure the bottom pastry is brown, being careful not to tip it out. The initial 425f for 10 mins is suppose to help cook the pastry. I put quiches and all pies on a slightly lower rack in the oven to brown the bottom more. You can also cover it up again and continue to bake until the bottom pastry is light brown. Watch the top edges of the pastry to make sure it doesn't get too dark. Cooking pastry in a pie to the exact doneness can be difficult and takes a bit more labour. I suppose one could always prebake the pie shell just a little, but that too is more work and required weights or beans, which I do have. I just don't like to do that unless absolutely necessary. It's so easy to wreck a pastry!