Caramelized Onion & Cauliflower Quiche

I always forget how incredibly easy it is to make a quiche! Plus it’s a great way to use up any leftover veggies and cheeses you have around. So, when on Saturday night I remembered that I had a frozen pie crust from Whole Foods, and a excess amount of eggs, I knew that quiche was my dinner destiny. (I just re-read that sentence and am now realizing I might not be the coolest 29 year old out there haha) Anyway! I’ve never put cauliflower in quiche before but I actually liked it a lot! I think a creamy goat cheese would be great with this as well if you want to swap the Parmesan cheese for something else…

Ingredients:
1 pie crust, frozen or homemade
1 small cauliflower head, chopped and steamed (about 1 cup)
1 large garlic clove, roasted
1/2 large red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
5-6 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup half & half, or cream
Good pinch red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and cook the pie crust for about 10-15 minutes or until slightly golden. If you have them, you’ll want to use pie weights so that it doesn’t puff up. Or if you’re like me and keep meaning to buy pie weights but always forget to, then you can just prick holes in the bottom of the pie to let the heat escape, and simply push down any dough that puffs up. In the meantime, also roast the garlic in the oven. I just wrap mine in some aluminum foil and place it in there for about 15-20 mins. While those are cooking, saute the red onion with some olive oil until soft and caramelized, about 10 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes toward the end. In a large bowl beat the eggs and add the cream, salt and pepper.

Spread the caramelized onions and chunks of roasted garlic on the bottom of the pie shell, next add the cauliflower, then the Parmesan cheese. Lastly, pour over the eggs. Bake for 25-30 mins or until the eggs are set and the crust is golden brown.

Mitzuna Quiche with Ham & Ricotta

I love quiche, it is so easy to make and you can really add anything you want and it’ll be delicious! I had a bag of mitzuna which I haven’t cooked with much, so I wanted to see what I could do with it. Mitzuna is a green that looks similar to arugula but has a more of a bitter, peppery taste to it. It was a little strong for me to make a salad with (unless I mixed it with other greens) so I decided to make a quiche with it, and it ended up being one of my favorite quiches I have made so far! Rather than making the usual crust I decided to use thinly sliced potatoes instead, which I loved, because potatoes and eggs are just meant to be together. I will definitely be making this again!

Ingredients:
1 large potato (or two medium) half cut the long way, and the rest sliced (see photo)
2 cups mitzuna, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 red onion, chopped
4 pieces Canadian bacon or ham (about 1 cup worth chopped)
6 eggs
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat some olive oil in a large skillet and add the long sliced potatoes, cooking until slightly golden and fork tender. Plate and repeat with the other sliced potatoes. In the same pan, saute the garlic and onion until translucent. Add the mitzuna and cook until wilted, then toss in the ham and cook until heated through. In a large bowl beat the eggs and ricotta together, then add the Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt, pepper, and lastly the mitzuna mixture.

The assemble, cover the bottom of a pie dish (which has been lightly rubbed with butter or non-stick spray) with the smaller potatoes, covering the best you can. Use the longer sliced potatoes along the edges. Pour in the egg mixture and bake for about 30-40 minutes or until the egg has set. Let cool for 5 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!

 

 

Spaghetti Squash Crusted Quiche With Sausage & Potato

Spaghetti squash can be a lot of fun to cook with, you can really do a lot with it. I’ve had it prepared before with sauce and meatballs as if it were real spaghetti, in soups, and simply tossed with brown butter and Parmesan cheese. Tonight I went in a totally different direction and used it as the “crust” for a quiche. As much as I love the buttery crust that usually accompanies a quiche, the squash was a great alternative and added a lot of nice flavor!

Ingredients: (adapted from PaleOMG)
1 spaghetti squash
2 Italian sausages (I used sweet)
1 potato, thinly sliced
6 eggs, whisked
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
Small handful freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Coconut oil, to grease pan

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the squash in half the long way and place face down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cook for 30 minutes or until a knife easily pierces through. Remove from oven and let cool enough to handle. Scoop out the seeds and discard, then remove the rest by scraping with a fork. It will be stringy like spaghetti! Mix in the nutmeg and set aside in a bowl. Turn oven down to 350.

Slice the potato and add to a pot of boiling water, cook until tender but don’t over cook! Heat a little olive oil in a pan and add the garlic, cook for one minute then add the onions stirring until translucent. Next remove the sausage from the casing and add that to the pan, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Cook until browned.

Grease a pie pan with a little coconut oil (I have coconut oil spray from Trader Joe’s that I use for everything!) Add the squash and press down firmly on the bottom and sides of the dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, and layer with potato slices. Mix the dried herbs into the eggs with a little salt and pepper, and pour that over the potatoes. Lastly, add the sausage and onion mixture. Place in oven and cook for 30-35 minutes or until eggs are set. Let cool a little before slicing, serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese on top.