With winter comes the desire for a hot breakfast in the morning and sometimes for dinner, too. There are 101 different ways to cook eggs, with quiches being one of my favorite. Quiches are easy to put together and are wonderful the next day cold or reheated. Kids love quiches, and there is no reason to tell them that you snuck in some vegetables under all of the cheesy goodness.
The recipe below was developed by two students from The Culinary Institute of Montana at Flathead Valley Community College. Anna Dryden and Tiffany Van Duyn developed this recipe in celebration of “Quiche Day.” We hope it brings you joy!
Filling
• 4 eggs
• 6 oz. heavy cream
• 6 1/2 oz. milk
• 1 cup chopped spinach, plus whole leaves for garnish
• 2 red bell peppers, diced
• 1 shallot, diced
• 2 tsp. Italian seasoning
• Pinch of pepper
• 1/2 tsp. dried dill
• 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 cup goat cheese, crumbled with hands
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• Single pie crust in a pan (if you don’t want to make your own, use a premade crust from the grocery store)
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Sauté all of the vegetables together until fork tender. Spread evenly over the bottom of the unbaked pie crust.
Whisk the eggs, milk, and heavy cream together. Add the Italian seasoning, pepper, salt, garlic powder and dill. Pour over the vegetables.
Top with the crumbled goat cheese and the whole spinach leaves.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the quiche is golden brown on top and not overly jiggly.
Pie Crust
• 2 1/2 cups white flour
• 1 1/4 cups lard or Crisco, cold
• 6-8 Tbsp. ice cold water
Mix the flour and the cold fat together with a pastry cutter or by hand until the mixture resembles cornmeal.
Add 1 Tbsp. of ice cold water to the mixture and mix. Repeat until the dough forms. Do not overmix or the crust will be tough.
Wrap the dough in plastic and chill for 10 minutes.
Roll dough into a round that will fit the pie pan. Place in pie pan and crimp edges to create a festive design for the holidays.
Michaella Irlbeck is the Executive Sous Chef at the Culinary Institute of Montana at Flathead Valley Community College. For more information about the program, visit www.culinaryinstituteofmt.com.