There is something about December that pushes me to bake. Although it's weeks away from Christmas, we have started into the holiday party season, plus I'm doing lunch with friends from time to time and want to have a little something sweet to give them. Then there are the occasions when my dairy allergy gets in the way and it's more comfortable to bring my own lunch instead of expecting the hostess to cook another entree just for me. The added bonus is that what I make is also available for another meal with Sweetie.
Quiche is nothing new. I've probably posted two or three before this and each one is just a little different from the others. This time I was baking it to bring a slice to a meeting where quiche was on the menu. Unfortunately it was Costco quiche, which has milk and cheese in it. Mine was baked with no cheese and with unsweetened soy creamer in place of the milk, so it worked for my dietary needs.
Quiche is really a versatile pie...you can put almost anything savory in it that works well with custard. Some classics include spinach and Swiss cheese with mushrooms and leeks like HERE, bacon and Swiss cheese, onion, mushroom and cheddar cheese, vegetables with onion and garlic and herbs, ham and cheddar, ham and chard and jack cheese, broccoli and blue cheese and bacon...you get the idea. Most do have cheese, but it really isn't necessary as long as you make sure that you have other ingredients included are that a good strong flavor. In some ways you can use things that you might include in an omelette.
For this quiche we had onions and celery cooked in a little olive oil, broccoli, and small cubes of cooked chicken thigh. For seasonings we had poultry seasoning, salt and pepper, plus a little thyme.
It was delicious and filling and very easy to make. Since I use the ready-made rounds of unbaked crusts found in the refrigerated section of our store (Pillsbury ReadyCrusts), it all goes together fairly quickly. You can also use your favorite pie dough recipe for the crust...it will probably be better, but not by much.
This is a delicious version...packed with veggies and chicken with it all held together with a delicate and flavorful custard. It would be a handy thing to have in the fridge over the holidays, or perfect for your own dinner (or lunch) when you have had a busy day.
Chicken and Broccoli Quiche
1 medium onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cooked chicken thighs, skinned, boned, and cubed into bite sized pieces
½ head broccoli, thawed, cut into florets
1 prepared Quiche crust (recipe follows)
3 large eggs
1 ½ cups whole milk or nut milk or creamer
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ teaspoon poultry seasoning
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat a large skillet and sauté’ the onion and celery until onion is translucent, about 4 minutes, stirring often. Cool.
Spread the onion mixture over the bottom of the quiche crust. Arrange the chicken evenly over the vegetable mixture and then place the broccoli florets in a pattern over the chicken.
In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together. Add the salt, pepper, and thyme and poultry seasoning. Pour this mixture slowly over the ingredients in the quiche crust.
Place quiche in prepared oven and bake 20 – 25 minutes, or until just set and lightly browned on top.
Serve warm. Serves 6 – 8
Crust - Ready made and made from scratch versions
I made this the night before the luncheon, so making a crust from scratch was not an option. (The ‘from scratch’ recipe is below my substitution.)
I used Pillsbury ReadyCrust. One round was fitted into a 9-inch pie pan, the edges were crimped, a round of parchment paper was put inside and dry beans were used as pie weights. Crust was baked in a 450 degree F. oven for about 10 minutes. Pie pan was put on a cooling rack, parchment and beans were removed, and crust was left to cool.
Official Shell for Quiche1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cold shortening, cut into small pieces
½ cup (1 stick) frozen butter, cut into small pieces
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup cold water
Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until dough holds together and starts to forma a ball, about 25 seconds. Do not over mix.
Remove dough and shape into a 6-inch disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place disk on a lightly floured surface, and with a lightly floured rolling pin roll dough from the center out to the edges, changing the direction with each stroke, until the circle is 1/8 inch thick and about 1 inch larger than the pie plate. Fold dough in half and transfer to pie plate. Press gently to remove air bubbles. Fold edge under and flute. Do not prick dough for a quiche because the filling will seep under the shell. To partially bake the shell for a quiche, bake it for 8 minutes. Cool slightly on a rack. It should be slightly warm when filling is added.
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