trash: food: quiche

Quiche is infinite possibility and infinitely forgiving. I'm putting it under trash cause it's super handy for using up veggies that are on their way out, and in my typical hedonist mode of over-indulgence always, the more your toss into the quiche-heap, the better. 

I actually decided to make quiche in the first place because my neighbor gave me a dozen eggs from her boyfriend's farm, on top of the 8 or so I had in the fridge. So this one is made with farm fresh eggs, local buttermilk, and mostly farmer's market veg - although the shallots are not. Neither is the cheese, which is also not a veg. I used buttermilk because it's the only true liquid dairy I keep on hand; I also had soymilk but that seemed silly, although not something I'm above. Most quiche recipes call for milkmilk and/or cream. As for the crust, I used a quiche dough recipe from a baking book I have which involved flour, butter and an egg + the littlies (salt, baking powder, water). I'm not including it because crusts are standard and you can find your own. 

Quiche Filling 

Ingredients

3 shallots or 1 onion (or 2 shallots and half an onion in this case), chopped and caramelized

4 sweet anaheim peppers, chopped large and sauteed in olive oil to soften

1-2 medium red potatoes, boiled and then cubed and browned in olive oil

To taste: basil leaves (maybe about 15), sliced/shredded

1 c. buttermilk

4 eggs

1/4-1/2 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. Bragg's 

1/4 tsp salt, or to taste

1/2 scant c. cheddar, shredded

1/2 scant c. smoked mozzarella, shredded

pre-heat oven: 375

Here is exactly how I did this, because I like to layer, but the details, while God is always in them, are still up to you:

one: whisk together buttermilk, eggs, paprika, Bragg's and salt in a medium bowl. 

two: layer smoked mozzarella over bottom of your choice crust in pie pan. spread potatoes on top and cover with a portion of your milkegg mixture.

three: mix shallots, peppers, basil and remaining cheese into remaining milkeggs.  

four: pour this remaining mixture into crust. transfer to oven and bake for about 1 hour or until jiggle free and toothpick clean. 

allow to cool.

I'm eating this for lunch with a light white: Seignuers de Bergerac, 2006 Bergerac Sec - a Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon-Muscadelle mix, which is totally drinkable and completely in my under $12 price range. 

The best thing about quiche is, like I labeled, its trash factor. You can swap any other thing in for any of the choices I've made here. Good swaps: mushrooms, chard, spinach, zucchini or summer squash, okra. All sauteed. And whatall else you're trying to make use of, including different cheese choices. 

The smoked moz is my vegetarian pick, because it has that nice ham-y taste of smoked cheese without being over-powering and without being ham. I'm also not a big fan of peppers, and it happens to be pepper season here in the BR, so the farmer's market is packed with them. I always think I'm going to like stuffed peppers, and don't get me wrong, they're totally palatable, but after the one orzo-stuffed batch and then the one cornmeal-stuffed batch, I'm pretty much over it. The sweetness of the peppers, combined with the caramelized shallots, balances the smoked cheese. Sticking them in here also adds a nice texture and allows me to feel like I'm helping to save the world.