Zucchini Quiche CC

By

One of our favorite ways to use up late summer’s inevitable bumper crop of zucchini is to prepare a simple zucchini quiche recipe. Unfortunately, zucchini's high water content can cause a big problem: liquid seeps out of the zucchini while the quiche bakes, resulting in diluted flavor, runny custard, and a soggy crust. For a recipe that avoided these pitfalls, we found that grating the zucchini on the large holes of a box grater was fast and easy, and allowed additional water to cook out. For richer vegetable flavor, we sautéed onion and garlic with the zucchini. Tossing the cooled zucchini mixture with flour before adding it to the custard mixture thickened the filling so it cooked up sturdy and sliceable. We also used Parmesan cheese in our Zucchini Quiche, which served two purposes: Once sprinkled on our store-bought crust, it melted when baked to create a waterproof barrier that kept the custard filling from making the crust soggy, and it also gave extra flavor to the bland crust.

View complete recipe

  • 1

Ingredients

  • ZUCCHINI FILLING
  • 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 medium zucchini, grated
  • 1 small onion, halved and sliced thin
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
  • 1 ½ teaspoons all-purpose flour
  • CUSTARD AND PIE CRUST
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • ½ cup shredded fontina cheese
  • 1 recipe Easy, Cheesy Pie Crust (see recipe link above)
  • i

Preparation

Step 1

if you can't find fontina cheese, Monterey jack makes a good substitute. Grate only the flesh of zucchini and discard the seeds and core. The quiche will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature or reheat before serving.

1. For the filling: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-low heat until shimmering. Add zucchini, onion, garlic, and salt and cook, covered, until vegetables are tender and have released their liquid, about 6 minutes. Uncover and cook until bottom of pan is dry, about 3 minutes. Transfer zucchini mixture to bowl and let cool 5 minutes. Toss with basil and flour until combined.

2. For the custard and crust: Whisk eggs, cream, nutmeg, salt, and pepper in large bowl. Stir in zucchini mixture and cheese and pour into pie crust. Bake until crust is golden brown and center of quiche is just set, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes. Serve.

Makes one 9-inch baked pie shell
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon flour
1 (9-inch) Pillsbury Ready to Roll Pie Crust
1. Combine Parmesan and flour. Sprinkle half of Parmesan mixture over one side of dough and gently roll mixture into dough with rolling pin. Flip dough and repeat with remaining Parmesan mixture. Roll dough out into 12-inch circle.

2. Move dough to 9-inch pie plate, gently pressing into corners to secure and fluting edges as desired. To prevent shrinkage, refrigerate dough for 20 minutes, then transfer to freezer for 10 minutes.

3. Spray two 12-inch square pieces of foil lightly with cooking spray and arrange, greased-side down, in chilled pie shell. Top with pie weights and fold excess foil over edges of dough. Bake on lower-middle rack at 375 degrees until surface of dough no longer looks wet, about 20 minutes. Carefully remove hot weights and foil and continue to bake (uncovered) until just golden, about 5 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before proceeding with recipe.

View complete recipe