Monday, February 13, 2012

Broccoli, Ham and Cheese Quiche with Potato Crust


I have a confession: I don't usually measure when it comes to cooking "food."  For as accurate a science as I know baking is and for the number of measuring tools in my kitchen for the purpose of being precise, when it comes to making a non-pastry-cookie-cupcake-sweet-baked-delicious-yumminess, I throw caution to the wind and just eyeball my ingredients.

Most of the time this works.



And yes it did this time too.

Dave and I enjoyed this quiche for dinner.  It was delicious, low fat, quick to put together and a new spin on brinner (breakfast for dinner).  Having made some fluffy frittatas before, I was a little disappointed that the egg mixture didn't fluff up on top of the potato crust, but clearly there were too many nooks and crannies for the egg to slide into when I poured it over top.  Because the egg did fluff up, just underneath and in between the potato crust.  But it was still delicious, just a little more like a strata than a quiche.

Mmm...fluffy eggs

Since today is Secret Recipe Club reveal day, you'll know now that I was paired with Fallon's Cucina.  Fallon is a healthy chick, which is a nice change from my traditional butter-laden cuisine.   I had a hard time finding a recipe but ultimately I thought her Broccoli, Mushroom and Ham Quiche with Potato Crust would be a nice alternative dinner, both healthy and hearty (Dave and I both had two pieces).  Plus I thought it would be a good test for a possible brunch dish (the answer is yes!).  A few changes I made (besides the lack of actual measurements) was that I didn't include the mushrooms or the tomatoes (at Dave's request), but I upped the broccoli a bit. I probably should have thrown in a red pepper instead of more broccoli because there were bites that were very broccoli heavy.  I also swapped the cheese out for shredded Swiss and shredded cheddar since we're big cheesy egg fans and used turkey ham since that's what I had on hand.  The result was delicious and I suspect I'll make this again.

Broccoli, Ham and Cheese Quiche with Potato Crust


Ingredients

3 red potatoes
cooking spray
1 teaspoon olive oil
salt and pepper
1/2 cup sweet onion
1 to 1 1/2 cups broccoli florets
3/4 cup ham or turkey ham
4 whole eggs
4 eggs whites
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup shredded cheddar
1/4 shredded Swiss

Spray a pie pan with cooking spray.  Scrub and rinse the potatoes, then dry.  Thinly slice potatoes and arrange, slightly overlapping, to cover the bottom and sides of the pie pan (Note: I could have sliced my potatoes a little thinner to create a better seal in my crust.)



Spray potatoes with cooking spray and season with salt and pepper (as much or little as you like).  Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes.  While the crust bakes, dice the onion.


Preheat a skillet on the oven and add olive oil and onion, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.  Saute onions for about 5 minutes.


Chop broccoli florets into smaller pieces and add to onions, continuing to saute for 3 or 4 more minutes.




Dice ham into mildly uniform pieces.


Remove potato crust from oven and spread onion, broccoli, diced ham and cheese evenly over crust.




In a medium bowl, beat together eggs, egg whites, milk and sat and pepper until combined.



Pour egg mixture over crust and filling.


Return to oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes our clean.


Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before cutting and serving.


Makes 1 quiche with 8 slices.


Happy Baking,
The Cookie Princess


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10 comments:

  1. I love the fact that this is a bit different and original, although I have to admit that I'm a huge pastry fan and would miss the pastry crust on this! It's great for a change anyway.

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  2. You caught my attention with "potato crust" - that looks excellent. Great job!

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  3. I had to start measuring when I started the blog, I'm like you, I like to just throw it all together. I LOVE the potato crust! I'm gluten free so am often trying to find alternatives to the usual crust. I am going to try this!

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  4. Love the potato crust.

    If you haven't already, I'd love for you to check out my Group 'A' SRC entry: Crunchy Fudgy Heart Bites

    Lisa~~
    Cook Lisa Cook

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  5. Nice to meet you!! This reminds me I haven't made this quiche in forever. I think you should maybe add some more eggs, even egg whites to make it more fluffy and to spread out more. Now where is my quiche pan... ;)

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  6. I looooove a quiche! Its my go-to meal. I really love the potato crust on this one. Something I'll have to try..... I’m stopping by from SRC but I’d love if you check our my new site seasonalpotluck.com February is oranges month so if you have any orange recipes, we’d love if you’d link up! http://bit.ly/zDoNfx

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  7. The potato crust is definitely something I need to try-I like the idea even more than the standard quiche crust. It does look delicious, I am saving the recipe. Glad you chose this one for SRC yum!

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  8. I've got to say, the potato crust has totally won me over! If you haven't had a chance, please stop by and visit my SRC post for Giant Chocolate Toffee Cookies

    http://butteryum.blogspot.com/2012/02/giant-chocolate-toffee-cookies.html

    :)
    ButterYum

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  9. haha brinner! i think it would be good for lupper!

    i also like the idea of using potatoes as a base. I've been thinkin gabout making quiche this week but I didn't want to use pastry. i was ready to forgo the crust all together but this is an excellent idea. On it!

    Happy SRC day!

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  10. This looks and sounds great! I love quiche, but never thought of using potatoes for a crust! I am a new follower. Patsy

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