Roasted Vegetable Quiche

Yield: One 9” Quiche
 

Cornmeal Crust
1 cup flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup cold butter, sliced
4 tablespoons ice cold water
1 tablespoon finely ground breadcrumbs

1. Place flour, cornmeal, salt and pepper in food processor. Pulse for a moment to mix the ingredients.
2. Add butter. Process until the ingredients come together slightly. While running, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until the mixture comes together. Shape into a ball and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes and up to overnight.
3. Between 2 pieces of parchment paper large enough for the dough to be rolled out, roll the dough to 2” beyond the pie pan size. I find that the 2 pieces eliminates anhy problem with stickiness. Peel the top layer of parchment paper off. If the dough is sticky, place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes and try again. With the remaining piece of parchment paper on top, unroll the pie dough evenly over the pie pan. Press down lightly to fit in the pie pan. With a scissors or knife, trim off excess dough, leaving 1-2” beyond the pie pan. (I have a scissors I exclusively use for cooking.)
4. Pinch edges attractively. Prick the bottom of the dough with fork. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes or more. You can prepare the dough and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Preheat the oven to 400F (200C).
5. Cut off a sheet of aluminum foli that is slightly larger than the pie pan. Crumble aluminum foil and then smooth it out. Place on top of crust, pushing it down slightly to cover the entire bottom and sides. Add weights such as uncooked beans, lentils, rice or pie weights.
6. Place crust in oven and reduce heat to 350F. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and place on a rack. Let cool before filling.

Vegetable Filling and Custard

Roasted Vegetables: All sliced thinly
20 minutes
3 small red potatoes, sliced thinly
1 medium carrot, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and sliced thinly
15 minutes
7-10 cherry tomatoes
1 small zucchini, cut thinly into slices
1 red bell pepper, deseeded and sliced thinly
6-8 ounces mushrooms, white button or Baby Bella, sliced in half or quartered depending on size
2 small radishes, sliced thinly

1. Preheat oven to 400F or 200 C.
2. Place vegetables on the parchment lined oven proof pan(s) in each vegetable group—potatoes with potatoes, onions with onions, etc. Drizzle olive oil on top and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Bake for the suggested times above, keeping an eye on the vegetables to make sure they do not burn.
4. Mushrooms: 10 minutes after you place the mushrooms in the oven, pull out the rack. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon salt over the mushrooms. Place back in oven and bake for another 5 minutes or until slightly brown.
5. Let vegetables cool or refrigerate until you are ready to use them. The vegetables can be roasted several hours ahead of time or the day before.

TIP: The vegetables will take different times to roast. This depends on the vegetables themselves and the size you have cut them. I cut the vegetables and group them together so you can easily remove a certain group from the pan and let the other vegetables continue cooking. Don’t leave the kitchen for this as the vegetables can easily burn!

Custard
5 eggs
1 cup milk of choice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup sharp Cheddar or Gruyere, grated or shredded
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated or shredded

1. Beat the eggs until well mixed. Add the rest of the custard ingredients and stir until well combined.
2. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Assembly
1. Preheat oven to 375F (190C).
2. With a small fork, prick the bottom of the quiche crust. Place vegetables on the bottom of the crust, layering them to cover the bottom evenly. I pulled out a few carrots and tomatoes to place on the top after the custard is poured.
3. Place quiche pan in a larger rimmed oven proof pan. Place in oven and pull out rack. Carefully pour the custard over the vegetables. If you have left a few vegetables out, place them attractively on top.
4. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.
5. Carefully slide the rack back into the oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a sharp knife comes out clean when cut in the center. Remove from oven and cool on rack.
6. Serve warm or room temperature. Refrigerate leftovers, if there are any!
7. While you can freeze quiche, not all vegetables will taste the same. It is better eatten on the same day or within 2-3 days.

Expandthetable suggestions
Creamier: Reduce milk to 3/4 cup and add 1/4 cup heavy cream or half and half. Substitute butter for olive oil in quiche crust.
Use other veggies: Other good options for roasted veggies are small eggplant, sliced or cubed, acorn or butter nut squash, cubed, sweet potato, peeled and cubed, broccoli or cauliflower, cut stem and broke into small bits. Or you may use just a few vegetables instead. You should have about 2 cups chopped veggies.

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