Zucchini, mint and pine nuts quiche

Quiche– can’t go wrong with a dish with such a name. People like quiches: they sound French, they’re impressive, and they look healthy too. But then I used to think quiches were a hassle to make. Too many recipes, too much work, too long to make…

Still, when we have dairy, we need something nice. When the occasion calls for something with a fresh smell of pastry, and the aroma of herbs from the garden, and ripe vegetables, rich cheeses and cream…the answer is quiche. And the surprise: it’s not that complicated!

I got this recipe from my brother, Liron. He taught me the general formula and then how to improvise.  As the saying goes: …Teach someone to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

The recipe for the crust is a fairly easy one and can be used for any quiche. The secret is to do as little as possible.

230 gr. Flour (a little less than two cups…)

1/2 tsp. Salt

100 gr. Butter or Margarine

1 Egg

Use a mixer or a food processor for making the dough; on the Kenwood Cheff I use the K-shaped handle. Add the flour, salt and diced butter.  The butter should be very cold. (We always have margarine in the freezer; it keeps forever, and I use it that way). Mix it into crumbs. Then add the egg, and mix just till it forms into one lump. If it’s too dry, add a spoon or two of water.

Next, roll the dough out so that it is slightly bigger than the pan you will use. Lay it over the dish so that it covers the bottom and sides.  The dough of the crust tends to shrink a little in the oven, so make sure there’s some extra dough and put it in the fridge to cool.

Now for the filling. You can use any vegetable you like, with whatever herbs you fancy. Adapt to what’s available and use your imagination. The following is one of our favorites:

1 Onion or Leek, diced

2 Zucchini, sliced

Olive Oil

A fresh bunch of Mint, finely chopped

2 tbsp. Oregano, chopped

100 gr. Pine nuts

Fry the onions in olive oil until they go transparent. Then add the zucchini, herbs and pine nuts, and fry until the zucchini are soft. Remove from the flame.

The sauce, once again, is a general recipe that will go with any filling. You can change the cheeses to better suit different vegetables:

2 Eggs

200 ml. Cooking Cream

100 ml. Sour Cream

200 gr. Cheese

Mix all the ingredients together. For this recipe we used soft yellow cheese and feta, but not the salty kind.

Now all that is left to do is put the filling in the crust. Then pour the sauce on top and bake for 30-40 min. at 180°C. The filling should set and the top turn golden. That’s it.  Hope you like it. And if you do try this out, hit us in the comments and let us know how it came out.