Mixed Squash Quiche
I am in a time-saving whirlwind these days trying to get creative with meals I can make ahead of time so I don't have to think about it during the week. One of my favorite breakfasts is quiche. They're versatile and easy to make and they refrigerate and reheat well. Quiche is also a great dish for brunch and travels well if you're having brunch somewhere else. This Mixed Squash Quiche is easy, healthy and tastes great.
I am in a time-saving whirlwind these days trying to get creative with meals I can make ahead of time so I don't have to think about it during the week. One of my favorite breakfasts is quiche. They're versatile and easy to make and they refrigerate and reheat well. Quiche is also a great dish for brunch and travels well if you're having brunch somewhere else. This Mixed Squash Quiche is easy, healthy and tastes great.
- 1/2 cup butter
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- filling:
- 1 1/4 cups milk
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 3 eggs beaten
- cold water
- 1 red onion chopped
- pastry:
- 1 cup whole-wheat flour
- 1 small to med-sized zucchini chopped
- 1 small to med-sized yellow squash chopped
- 2 tbs basil chopped
- 8 oz cheddar cheese
- Carbohydrate 51.7398693825576 g
- Cholesterol 178.420165729383 mg
- Fat 33.8659942954564 g
- Fiber 6.5913998908062 g
- Protein 22.5962291734195 g
- Saturated Fat 19.626786312947 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (328g)
- Sodium 712.537885094252 mg
- Sugar 45.1484694917514 g
- Trans Fat 2.6517312631808 g
- Calories 589 calories
Step-by-step
- Mix flours together and rub in butter with fork or hands until crumbly.
- Mix into firm dough using cold water a tablespoon at a time until dough is thoroughly mixed.
- Cover and chill dough 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Roll out dough for 9-inch pie pan, making sure crust comes up the side pie pan. Prick bottom and sides with fork and bake 20 minutes. When crust is done baking, lower oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
- While crust is baking, prepare the filling ingredients. In a frying pan, sweat onion in olive oil for 5 minutes. Add squash and sauté for 5 minutes.
- Spoon onions and squash mixture into pie dish. Sprinkle with about 1/2 the cheese and all the basil. Beat eggs, milk, salt and pepper together and pour over filling. Top with remaining cheese.
- Place quiche in oven and bake 40 minutes until cheese is bubbly and middle of quiche is set.
- There are so many different ways you can make quiche. It’s really up to you what flavors you want in it. With this particular quiche I have sautéed the squash with the onions, about 4 cloves of minced garlic (I love garlic) and chopped sun-dried tomatoes and switched the cheddar cheese for mozzarella. The tomatoes add a wonderful flavor and it makes a sort of Caprese quiche.
Cheddar cheese does the heaviest lifting in this build, anchoring high-moisture vegetables that threaten to make the crust soggy if handled carelessly. Sharp cheddar brings enough structural protein and oil to bind the zucchini and yellow squash while adding a necessary bite to counter their natural sweetness. Relying exclusively on mild cheeses here yields a flat, overly watery interior that refuses to slice cleanly. Grating the cheddar on a standard box grater rather than buying pre-shredded varieties ensures proper melting without anti-caking starches interfering with the custard.
Mixing all-purpose flour with whole-wheat flour requires a light hand when cutting in the half-cup of butter. Rub the fats into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse meal before introducing cold water one tablespoon at a time to prevent tough gluten development. Chilling that dough for 30 minutes relaxes the wheat strands so the pastry rolls out evenly into the nine-inch pie pan without snapping back. Pricking the bottom and sides thoroughly with a fork lets trapped steam escape during the initial 20 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, setting a crisp foundation before the wet filling goes in.
Sweating the onions and chopping the squash into uniform pieces prevents uneven cooking pockets inside the custard layer. Sautéing them for precisely five minutes removes excess surface moisture without rendering the vegetables entirely limp, which is crucial for maintaining texture after baking. Once the onions and squash hit the blind-baked crust alongside half the cheese and fresh basil, pouring the beaten eggs and milk over top requires lowering the oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. That moderate heat cooks the dairy-egg ratio gently for 40 minutes until the center reaches a wobbly set rather than a rubbery scramble.
Pairing this rich, squash-filled pastry with a sharp, acidic green salad cuts through the dairy fat effectively. Dress peppery arugula or thinly sliced endive in a simple lemon vinaigrette right before serving to keep the leaves crisp. Avoid heavy starches on the side table, because the flour crust and cheddar cheese provide more than enough carbohydrate weight for a complete meal.
