Fresh Broccoli-Scallion-Tomato Quiche

One of my favorite Sunday morning breakfast meals can be made year round.  However, during summer, I love this dish even more because I can use fresh ingredients straight from the garden which just enhances the flavor.  I am talking about quiche!

Now quiche has gotten the reputation in some circles as taking quite some time to prepare… too many steps and too many ingredients.  Let me show you how just a few simple ingredients and taking out a few steps, you can have a fresh-from-the-oven dish on your plate in less than 40 minutes.

Recipe

• 2 Tbl. olive oil
• 4 shallots, diced
• 1 1/3 C. broccoli florets chopped
• 1 tomato, seeds and gel removed, chopped
• 5 eggs
• 2/3 C. milk
• 1 1/3 shredded cheese (I used Monterey Jack)
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Add olive oil to a pan placed over medium heat.  Sauté shallots for 2 minutes then add broccoli and tomato.  Stir to prevent sticking to the pan.  Continue to stir as you sauté for another 4 – 5 minutes or until the shallots are translucent and the broccoli is bright green.  Add a little salt and pepper to taste.  Stir to distribute seasonings.

Transfer sautéed vegetables to a greased 10″ pie pan.  NOTE: this is a crust-less quiche.  By not making a crust and doing a blind bake eliminates steps which in turn decreases the amount of time in making a quiche from scratch.

Next, shred Monterey Jack cheese.  You may use pre-shredded cheese, but I find that the flavor is slightly different and that the texture is drier.  (Some manufacturers use cellulose in their shredded cheese.  The cellulose prevents the cheese from sticking together.)  Evenly distribute cheese across the top of the vegetables.

Thoroughly beat eggs and milk in a medium bowl.  Add salt and pepper to taste to the egg mixture then stir to combine the seasonings.  Pour the egg mixture over cheese and vegetables.  NOTE: you may have some vegetables and cheese sticking up above the egg mixture.  This is fine.  All of the pan’s contents will settle during the baking process.

Bake in a pre-heated oven set to 400F.  (I use a convection oven which reduces the baking time to 20 -25 minutes.)  If you have a standard oven, increase the baking time 8 – 12 minutes.  I allow the quiche to bake for the 20 – 25 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the egg mixture has set.  If you are unsure, insert a tooth pick.  If the tooth pick remains clean, the quiche is set.

All that is left is to slice and enjoy.  The following photo simply shows how we round ed out our meal with toasted crusty bread spread with butter and sliced radish.