Gluten-Free Quiche

I adore a good quiche. The silky, creamy texture of the eggs combined with the salty crunch of the bacon and the bite of the swiss cheese combine to create what is one of the best (at least in my mind) egg dishes around. Quiche is also very easy to tweak into something new and different. Toss in spinach for a more hearty and filling dish. Or dispense with the bacon and swiss cheese and use just veggies. Tomatoes, basil, zucchini, broccoli… the sky is the limit.

Tonight I made not 1, but 2 different quiche. Quiches? (If you have more than one quiche, do you add an s to the end?) A standard Quiche Lorraine (with heavy cream, swiss cheese, bacon) and a Harvest Quiche (cream, tomatoes, zucchini, broccoli, basil leaves, bit of swiss cheese). Usually when I make quiche, I skip the crust. But tonight, I felt in the mood for an actual quiche – with crust so I made my pie crust recipe and divided the dough between the quiches.

The Quiche Lorraine is quite simple to make. Slice bacon into small pieces and fry until crispy. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels to remove excess grease. Grate 4 ounces of swiss cheese and sprinkle into the pie crust. Follow with the bacon pieces and then pour your egg/cream mixture over the top. If you feel like adding spinach, basil, or any other vegetable, do so after the bacon – before the egg/cream mixture.

The Harvest Quiche was equally simple. I layered zucchini rounds (unpeeled), broccoli stem slices, whole basil leaves, and roma tomato slices and then sprinkled with 1/2 cup or so of grated swiss cheese before adding the egg/cream mixture. The basil took this quiche from delicious to divine. I adore basil and the heady aroma and explosive flavor jazz up any dish.

With the leftover basil and cream I decided to make a tomato basil soup. I had a few cans of diced tomatoes and while a good tomato soup is always best when using fresh tomatoes, canned tomatoes also do nicely. This soup requires just a few basic ingredients: tomatoes, salt, pepper, garlic, basil, cream, butter. That’s it. Incredibly easy to make and yet amazingly delicious. Recipe is below along with both quiche recipes.

When I was a child, my mom would take her leftover pie crust and cut it into triangles, sprinkle these with a sugar/cinnamon mixture, and then bake them until golden brown. I wasn’t a big pie fan back then but I did love those pie crust “cookies.” Delicate and just slightly sweet they were delicious by themselves or topped with a bit of whipped cream and a few fresh berries. Yum.

It’s funny that I could never conquer pie crusts until I went gluten-free. My pies before were made with the refrigerated dough that you unfold and set into the pie plate. But as a celiac, if you want a pie crust, you must make it from scratch. Amazingly, after some practice, I not only perfected what is, in my opinion, a pie crust to rival “normal” pie crusts, but I’m actually good at it. I did not apply myself diligently enough back in my gluten days or I believe I would have mastered crusts then as well. But if there ever was a time to learn the art of making pies, it is now.

I have a cute heart cookie cutter that I use for my top pie crusts. Rather than laying an entire crust over the top and cutting slits, I layer hearts one over the other. This creates a unique and beautiful pie that is as pretty to look at as it is to eat. And I use this same cutter when it comes to making my own “pie crust cookies.” Hubby and son love these as much as I do and they’re typically gone immediately.

Quiche Lorraine
6 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
6 slices bacon, chopped and then cooked until crispy
4 ounces grated swiss cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1 pie shell, unbaked

Beat eggs with milk and cream until smooth and thoroughly incorporated. Salt and pepper to taste (approx 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper).

Layer pie shell with swiss cheese and bacon. Pour egg/cream mixture over the top and bake at 425F for 15 minutes and then 300F for 30 minutes (45 minutes total baking time). Insert clean knife into center – if it comes out clean, quiche is done. Bake 5-10 minutes longer if not quite done.

Cool for 10 minutes and serve. This makes a great dish for any meal – breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner.

Harvest Quiche
6 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
tomatoes
basil
zucchini
broccoli stems
salt and pepper to taste
grated cheese, if desired
1 pie shell, unbaked

Follow directions above. Slice veggies and layer in place of swiss cheese and bacon.

Tomato Basil Soup
2 – 15 ounce cans diced tomatoes
1 cup chopped, peeled zucchini, optional
1/4 cup butter
handful of basil leaves, approx 6-10
1 Tbl chopped garlic
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup heavy cream

Chop zucchini into small pieces and saute in butter with garlic until softened. Add tomatoes, whole basil leaves, salt, pepper and cook over med-low heat for 20 minutes.

Remove from heat and blend (blender or hand blender) until smooth. Add cream and mix well. Set back on low heat for 5 minutes to heat through.

Serve with basil leaf and a small bit of fresh grated parmesan cheese (if desired). Enjoy!