My countertops are just about the same height as my four year old son. Every time I go to the kitchen to cook, I see a little set of eyes peering over every surface in search of tidbits he can sneak. The problem is that since I’m often styling and photographing food, things aren’t always in their containers. He has on more than one occasion eaten a spoonful of salt thinking he was sneaking sugar, or even more often he gets palmfuls of flour and gags when he realizes it isn’t the powdered sugar. Unsweetened pastry dough looks deceivingly like sugar cookie dough, and crisco can appear to be vanilla frosting. He’s slowly starting learn his lesson and often reaches up and then retracts to take a closer look. So part of me felt bad when I was preparing this quiche and he came in for his regular surveying. He gets excited anytime he sees the roulpat and a rolling pin so with eager eyes he asked if it was sugar cookie dough. I told him it was pie crust dough and he replied “Ohhh that’s even better! Mom I LOVE pie. I love apple pie, and cherry pie, and chocolate pie, so I’m not even going to steal any dough so I can have pie when it’s done.” I knew what was coming next. “What kind of pie is it??!” With all of the enthusiasm I could muster, I exclaimed, “Zucchini Pie!” For a woman who always has a camera around her neck you’d think I would have thought to take a picture because the look on his face was priceless.The best part is that I can thank a reader for this one. Kate and I always love reading your comments (and we wish you’d comment more, we love to hear from you!) and we love to click on your profiles in a non-stalker-ish manner and check out your blogs too. I have found SO many cool people and interesting blogs just from looking at the people commenting here. We have such a talented audience! That’s just last week I stumbled upon Susan and her blog MyEyeQ. The first thing that caught my eye was her photography (drool!) and the next thing was a recipe for zucchini quiche. Tis the season for zucchini and I knew I had to try it. I changed the recipe from the original, mostly to accommodate a single 9-inch crust as opposed to 2 8″ ones. My family and assorted taste testers loved this one and I think you will too!
If you have a mandoline or a food processor, then slicing the zucchini will be a cinch and you’ll get perfectly even sized pieces. If you don’t have either, then no worries, just use a knife.
Set those aside and melt some butter in a large skillet. Cook a little garlic and onion (I use red onions for color, but white or yellow work just fine too)
When they’ve softened up a bit, toss in the sliced zucchini and and salt and pepper and cook for a few minutes longer.
You could really use just about any fresh herb in this. I have tons of oregano in my garden so I used that. Basil or thyme would be great too.
Now we can’t have quiche without eggs, right? Pretend there’s 3 in this bowl! I was adjusting as I went and ended up adding an extra one at the end. Beat those up and add a touch of dijon mustard, some red pepper flakes, and the herbs.
Now comes my favorite part of quiche. Cheese. It’s actually my favorite part of any dish that requires cheese. Gruyere is a little pricey but it’s worth it. You could substitute a good Swiss, but try the Gruyere if you can, it’s awesome! It melts beautifully which is why you often see it in fondue and baked pasta dishes and it has a strong enough flavor that it comes through in a dish like this. I also love it when it comes in a fancy paper package. This one says Switzerland and that makes me happy. I’ve been to Switzerland and they have the most beautiful cows I’ve ever seen in my life. So apparently beautiful cows make beautiful cheese.
Mix the egg mixture with the zucchini mixture and pop it all in the pie shell.
Sprinkle a little Parmesan on top (or you could just use a little extra Gruyere). I also sprinkled a few extra pepper flakes on top for color- but be careful if you do that because it might turn out spicier than you expected!
Bake it up in the oven until the top is golden and your house will smell soooo yummy.
Quiche is a great dish because it’s so flexible. You can serve it for breakfast or brunch along-side fruit and sweet rolls, or you can have it for dinner with a salad. It can be served warm or at room temp, or even cold out of the fridge. I actually think this tasted better room temp than it did when it was warm. I like how it sets up once it cools and I could taste all of the flavors better.
Zucchini Cheese Quiche
adapted from MyEyeQ
1 single 9″ pie crust (Click here for recipe)
1 lb zucchini, thinly sliced (about 3 small-medium zucchini)
1 Tbs butter
1/2 C diced red onion
3 cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced
kosher salt
black pepper
3 eggs
1/2 Tbs dijon mustard
1 1/2 Tbs fresh chopped oregano (or 1 1/2 tsp dry)
1/8 – 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
5 oz gruyere cheese
1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Place rolled out pie crust in a 9″ pie plate and flute edges. Place in fridge until ready to use.
In a large skillet on the stove-top, melt butter. Add onions and garlic and cook for about 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add sliced zucchini and add a sprinkle of salt (about 1/2 tsp) and a few cracks of black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes until zucchini is softened. Remove pan from heat and set aside.
In a separate bowl lightly beat eggs. Add dijon mustard, oregano, red pepper flakes. Whisk until combined and then gently stir in Gruyere cheese.
Add egg and cheese mixture to zucchini mixture and toss until combined. Place mixture in prepared pie crust and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.
Bake for 40-50 minutes or until center is set and top is lightly golden. Cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting. Can be served warm, at room temp, or even cold.
For more zucchini love check out:
Chocolate Zucchini Bread (a reader favorite!)
Zucchini Bread
Lemon-Herb Zucchini Fettuccini
Grilled Stuffed Zucchini
Tortellini Sausage Soup
