Category Archives: Quiches & Savory Pies

Leek & Red Pepper Quiche w/ Mediterranean Crust

Quiche is quickly becoming my go to dish for hosting brunch or lunch. Everyone likes quiche. It’s make-ahead, versatile, adaptable to what’s available fresh and locally, and can be made with or without meat. (I haven’t tried a vegan version yet, but I’m sure that’s coming one of these days.) I made this particular quiche to bring to brunch with friends, and it was a hit. I then made it for a family brunch, and again it got rave reviews.

The quiche, which is really more of a tart, is from Martha Rose Shulman, who made her career creating recipes for healthy eating. This recipe is an enlightened version of Flamiche Aux Poireaux, a savory tart from the Picardy region of Northern France usually made with a double crust filled with leeks, eggs, heavy creme, cheese and bacon. The eggs are not the main act in this tart – they are there mostly to hold the leek filling together. Martha’s recipe stays true to this low egg to leek ratio, but uses milk instead of cream and leaves out the bacon. (Thank god she left in the Gruyere, but she did cut it back a bit.)

She then uses a single Mediterranean crust made with whole wheat flour and olive oil, which is not only healthier but also delicious and so easy to work with! Her crust recipe makes enough for two tarts. You can try halving the amounts and just make one crust if you prefer. (I froze the second half and used it to make the second quiche a week later.) Or use this pate brisee’ pie crust – it’s great for any use.

I took the liberty of adding some red pepper for color and variety, but you can leave that out if you want to remain a little truer to tradition.

Print Recipe

Leek & Red Pepper Quiche

Ingredients

Crust (makes enough for two crusts)

  • 200 grams approximately 1¾ cups whole wheat flour
  • 115 grams approximately 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 5 grams approximately ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 50 grams ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 165 grams ¾ cup water
  • 10 grams 2 teaspoons strained lemon juice

Leek Filling

  • 3 large leeks white and light green part only
  • 1 medium red bell pepper
  • 1 tablespoon each olive oil and butter
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 garlic clove minced
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 whole egg
  • Freshly ground pepper to taste
  • ¾ cup 2% milk
  • 3 ounces Gruyère cheese grated

Instructions

  • Combine the water and lemon juice and set aside. In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, combine the flours and salt. Keeping it running, add the olive oil. When it is evenly distributed through the flour, add the water and lemon juice to the flour mixture with the machine running. The dough will come together in a ball.
  • Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface, flour your hands and work the dough just until smooth. Do not overwork it. Divide the dough in half, shape each half into a ball and press into a ½-inch thick circle. Wrap in plastic wrap – one goes into the freezer for another day, the other sits on the counter for an hour till you've prepared the rest of the ingredients,made the leek filling and let it cool a bit.
  • Cut away the root and dark green leaves from the leeks and cut in half lengthwise. Run under cold water to remove sand and drain on paper towels. If the leeks are very fat, cut the halves in half again lengthwise, then cut in thin slices. Dice the red pepper.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the oil or oil and butter over medium heat in a lidded skillet and add the leeks, red pepper and a pinch of salt. Cook gently, stirring, until leeks begin to soften. Turn the heat to medium-low, cover and cook gently until the leeks are very soft but not browned, stirring often, 10 to 15 minutes. If they begin to stick or brown, add a little more salt and/or a spoonful of water. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds to a minute, until fragrant.
  • Beat together the egg yolks and egg in a medium bowl. Remove the dough from the plastic wrap and roll it out, dusting your work surface and the top of the dough with flour to prevent it from sticking. Line a 9 inch tart pan with the rolled out dough and set the pan on a baking sheet. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the bottom of the crust with a small bit of the egg mixture and place in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
  • Add 1/2 tsp salt, pepper to taste and the milk to the eggs and whisk together. Spread the leeks in an even layer in the crust. Sprinkle the cheese in an even layer on top. Pour in the custard filling. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until set and browning on top.
  • Remove from the oven and allow to sit for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Black Bean Tart with Chili Crust

Irene has been making this tart for family gatherings for decades. The recipe comes from Gourmet January 1996, making it over 30 years old. In recent years, I’ve started making it for both family and friends. It never fails to please, and is a hit for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike.

Just take a look at that crust and you’ll understand why.

Black bean tart wtih chili crust

Thought it was about time I shared the recipe here.

Print Recipe

Black Bean Tart with Chili Crust

This recipe is a great way to use last summer's corn that you've frozen for later use. Alternatively use a package of frozen corn from the grocer. Note- This recipe makes a lot of filling. Just mound it up if using a 10 inch tart pan. Better yet, make it in an 11 inch tart pan, as I've done here, and it will spread more evenly.

Ingredients

Crust

  • 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1 tsp. chili powder
  • 1 tsp. paprika
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 1 stick chilled unsalted butter cut into bits
  • 2 tbsps. ice water
  • rice or beans for weighting shell

Filling

  • ½ lb. dried black beans or 3 cups canned black beans, rinsed and drained (2 cans)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 medium red onion chopped
  • 2 tbsps. sour cream
  • 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 10 oz. frozen corn thawed
  • 1 red bell pepper chopped
  • ½ cup fresh cilantro washed, dried and chopped
  • 1 ½ cup coarsely grated Monterey Jack cheese about 6 ounces
  • 1 or 2 fresh jalapeno chilies seeded and chopped fine (optional). I use ½ of one chili
  • ½ cup chopped scallions about 2

Lime Sour Cream (Optional)

  • 1 cup sour cream or low fat yogurt
  • 2 tsps. fresh lime juice or to taste

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Make crust:

  • In a bowl with a pastry blender or in a food processor blend or pulse together flour, spices, and salt until combined well. Add butter and blend or pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add ice water and blend or pulse until incorporated and mixture forms a dough.
  • Press dough evenly onto bottom and sides of a 10 or 11-inch tart pan with a removable fluted rim and chill 15 minutes, or until firm. Line shell with foil and fill with pastry weights. Bake shell in middle of oven until edge is set, 8 to 10 minutes. Carefully remove foil and weights and bake crust 10 minutes more, or until golden. Cool crust in pan on a rack. (Crust may be made 1 day ahead and kept at room temperature, covered loosely with plastic wrap.)

Make filling:

  • In a bowl soak dried beans if using in water to cover by 2 inches and soak overnight, then drain. In a large saucepan combine soaked beans, bay leaf, onion, and water to cover by 2 inches and simmer, uncovered, 1 to 1 ¼ hours, or until tender, adding more water if necessary. Drain beans, discarding bay leaf, and cool. (Note- I use canned black beans and eliminate this step. Then use the chopped red onion and bay leaf in the step with the sauteed corn that follows.)
  • In a food processor puree 1 cup cooked or canned beans with sour cream until smooth and season with salt and pepper.
  • In a skillet heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and saute corn with onion and bay leaf and salt and pepper to taste, stirring, about 2 minutes. Cool corn and remove bay leaf.
  • In a large bowl stir together corn, whole beans, bell pepper, cilantro, Monterey Jack, jalapeno, and scallions and season with salt and pepper.
  • Spread bean puree evenly onto crust and mound with remaining filling, pressing gently. Bake tart in middle of oven about 20 minutes, or until hot and cheese is melted. Let tart cool in pan on a rack 15 minutes.
  • Make Lime Sour Cream –  Whisk sour cream and lime juice with salt and pepper to taste
  • Remove rim of pan and serve tart warm or at room temperature with lime sour cream (optional). Serves 6.

Onion & Olive Tart

Onion & Olive Tart

This wonderful onion and olive tart is based on a recipe from Molly O’Neill.  Think if it as an Americanized version of the classic French Pissaladiere – a Nicoise savory tart made with anchovies, onions, olives and herbs.  The classic Pissalidiere is made with a thin pizza crust (though Julia Child made hers with puff pastry) and derives it name from its use of pisalla – a condiment speciality of the coastal area around Nice made from ground anchovies with olive oil, herbs and spices.

Today, I’ve made my mother-in-law Irene’s variation of the tart without anchovies. I plan to bring it to my brother-in-laws kick-ass Second Saturday Party, where it will accompany his amazing chicken wings and the best roast beef sandwiches in the world. Anchovies just don’t seem right, and I fear not everyone will like them.

But making this tart and learning about its origins has me itching to try my hand at a classic Pisalladiere.

Onion & Olive Tart

The original recipe by Molly O’Neill has instructions for making the crust by hand, if you prefer that over using the food processor.  Molly also hides the anchovies and olives between two layers of onions. Maybe she’s also worried about her audience…. I just made the variation without anchovies. 

Crust

  • 2 cups flour
  • ½ lb unsalted butter, sliced
  • ½ tsp kosher salt
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 3 tbsp ice water

Filling

  • 2 tbsps sweet butter
  • 3 lbs yellow onions, thinly sliced
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 12 anchovy fillets
  • 1 cup oil-cured black olives, pitted and halved
  • ¼ tsp each, basil and oregano

Make the crust:  In food processor, pulse flour and salt. Add butter, pulse. Add liquids. Pulse, then shape into ball on floured board. Wrap in plastic. Chill for one hour

Make the filling by melting the butter in a large skillet over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and add the onions. Cook, stirring frequently until the onions are light brown, about 15 minutes. Adjust the flame to avoid burning. Season with salt, pepper, oregano and basil. Set aside to cool to room temp.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured board and place in a large pie or tart pan. Press the dough into the pan and crimp the edges.

Lay in the onions using a fork. Arrange the anchovies in a starburst pattern from the center of the pie. Arrange the olives between the anchovies.

Bake the tart until the crust is golden and the onions are caramelized and brown, 40 to 50 minutes. YIELD: eight servings.

Pie Variations:

Omit anchovies. Sprinkle ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese on crust before adding the onions. Dot with whole olives before baking.

To make ahead 

Cook up the onions, and refrigerate. Make the pie dough and refrigerate. On the day you are serving, roll out the pie dough, assemble the pie and bake.  Serve at room temperature or warm up before serving.

Gluten-Free Low Fat Spinach, Leek & Mushroom Quiche

GLuten free quiche
This quiche serves 6 at only 235 calories a slice.

If, like me, you find yourself planning to make a lasagna for a friend recovering from surgery, stop for a second and consider, as I did, making something healthier. You just may find some amazing meals out there, including this delicious quiche from Cooking Light.

I was going for something not too high in fat, then realized that this quiche is also gluten-free*. Not that I have a gluten allergy, but any opportunity to replace processed white flour with whole grains is worth taking, as long as the result is edible.  And this is not only edible, it’s delicious!

*Oats and Oat Bran are naturally gluten-free. Cross contamination, however, can occur with gluten-containing products during storage and manufacture.  If you must, be sure to buy brands that are certified gluten-free.  

GLUTEN-FREE LOW-FAT, SPINACH, LEEK & MUSHROOM QUICHE

My recipe is a little different from the original in that I increased the leeks, skipped the dill, added a few sprigs of fresh instead of dried thyme, and also hot pepper flakes and fennel seeds. I skipped rolling out the dough and simply pressed it into a well greased tart pan. As you can see, the crust baked up beautifully (I placed the filled quiche on a baking sheet in the oven), and slipped out of the pan with no fuss at all. Maybe that’s because I used butter instead of cooking spray, so if you do that, add on a few calories. 

Crust

  • 1 cup regular oats
  • 1/3 cup oat bran
  • 2 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
  • 3 tablespoons cold water
  • Butter or cooking spray for the pan

Filling

  • 2 large leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced
  • 1 1/4 cups sliced mushrooms
  • 1 cup evaporated fat-free milk
  • 1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
  • A few sprigs of fresh thyme leaves
  • 1/4 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground pepper
  • 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 3 large egg whites
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
  • 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
  • 1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded Gruyêre cheese

Preheat oven to 375°. Grease a 9 inch tart pan with butter (or spray with cooking spray), being sure to get it into all the side grooves.

Combine oats and oat bran in a medium sized bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add water; stir. Press mixture gently into greased pan – it will seem like you won’t have enough, but you will, so just be patient, keep pressing it around and it will cover. Bake crust at 375° for 7 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool; leave oven on.

To prepare the filling, brush a cast iron skillet or saute pan lightly with olive oil (or spray with cooking spray), heat and add leeks. Saute for a few minutes till soft then add the mushrooms, salt, pepper, thyme and fennel and saute till the mushrooms start to release their liquid but are still plump and juicy. Spoon veggies into a large bowl and let cool.

Combine milk, Parmesan cheese and eggs in a blender and process until smooth. Add the spinach and pulse a few times to mix well.  Add to leek-mushroom mixture, and stir well. Pour into prepared crust (best to put the tart pan on a cooking sheet first, as it may leak a bit when you pour in the filling) and sprinkle with Gruyêre cheese. Bake at 375° for 35 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes, then remove pie from tart pan. Serve warm.

Kiddush Quiche (say that 5 times fast….)

The Hebrew word Kiddush means a prayer recited at the beginning of the Sabbath or holiday, but can also refer to a reception held just after services, often in conjunction with a Bar Mitzvah. Food at a Kiddush tends to be light or sweet fare – salads, fish, bagels, wine, cakes.

We hosted a Kiddush at our home last month for our friend’s son on the night before his Bar Mitzvah. In this process I discovered that hosting a friend’s party is much less stressful that hosting your own, especially when they bring most of the food, which in this case included a varity of cakes and fruit, the most amazing of which was the chocolate flourless cake from the Silver Moon Bakery. Because the timing of services made me worried that some of the guests may not have eaten dinner, I added cheese to the menu of sweets and decided to make a quiche.

It was a good decision – the group pretty much devoured everything. And what a great group it was – the kids all got along well, and we adults re-connected with old friends and made some new friends, too.

Thanks to our dear friends for allowing us to play such a special part in this important event.

Leek, Red Pepper and (chicken) Sausage Quiche

I modified a recipe for leek quiche I found in the Professional Chef, and used my own pie crust recipe. Obviously, our friends are not Kosher, but if you are, skip the meat in this quiche.

1 recipe Pate Brisee
2 large leeks or 4 small ones, thinly sliced
1 red pepper
1 clove garlic
butter or oil
salt
cayenne pepper
1 1/4 cup half and half
3 eggs
4 oz grated cheese (I used Fontina, you could also use Jarlsberg)
2 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
2 sausages (I used Applegate Farms organic pre-cooked chicken-apple sausages), diced

Prepare the crust

Make the Pate Brisee dough, roll it out and fit into a 10-inch tart pan. Partially cook it by either lining it with foil and adding pie weights, or setting a slightly smaller pie pan inside it. Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15 minutes till set. Then remove the foil and weights or smaller pie pan, prick the bottom with a fork and and bake another 5 minutes. Take out and let cool before filling

Make the Filling

Heat a small amount butter or oil in a saute pan. Add sausages and saute quickly over high heat to brown. Remove from pan to paper towels to drain. Lower heat to medium high and saute leeks, peppers and 1 tbsp thyme until leeks start to soften. Add garlic and saute a few minutes more. Season with salt, pepper and a pinch of cayenne. Remove from heat to cool.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk eggs and half and half together. Stir in the grated cheese and the second tbsp thyme, season with salt, pepper and cayenne.

Assemble and Bake

Spoon the filling mixture into the tart crust. Add the egg mixture gradually, stirring carefully with a fork to distribute the filling ingredients evenly.

Set the quiche on a sheet pan and bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 40-45 minutes until set ( a knife blade inserted into the center comes out clean) and lightly browned.

Serve warm or at room temp.

A Tart Pretty Enough for a Song

This asparagus tart is just so pretty, I don’t know what else to say, except to tell you that it is a combo of several recipes I found, with a dash of champagne vinegar that I thought of all by myself.

I have no idea if it tastes any good, because I am freezing it and reheating it on Sunday for Easter dinner. But you know what? I really don’t care how it tastes, I am so in love with how it looks.(Addendum 4/17/06 – It was delicious. But next time I’ll try freezing it uncooked.)

My daughter thought it was so beautiful that she sang it a song with her guitar. You see, Friday nights are chick-flick night, since Mr. TBTAM has a regular Friday night tennis game, so my daughters and I were watching The Wedding Singer while I was making the tart. We fell in love with the movie even though it is Adam Sandler and corny. After the movie was over, my daughter wanted to learn the chords and words to the song Adam sings to Drew about growing old together. So she went on the web and found them and was teaching herself the song when I called her in to the kitchen to see the tart. When she saw the tart, she decided it was so pretty that we had to sing to it, so she brought her guitar into the kitchen and we all sang the song to the tart. I think it will make it taste even better on Sunday.

Hey, if people can talk to their plants, we can sing to our food, okay?

Colorful Spring Asparagus Tart

Make a Pate Brise pie crust in a tart pan with a removable bottom, and bake it till just set and barely golden. (See instructions for pie crust here.)

Peel and trim 1 lb young asparagus. Further tirm the ends of 16 spears to make 3-4 inch spears for arranging on the top of the pie. Cut the remainder of those spears, and the rest of the asparagus into 1 inch lengths. Cut 15 cherry tomatoes in half and set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a 12 inch saute pan. Slice 1 onion thin and saute over medium low heat till soft, about 7 minutes. Add asparagus and saute for an additional 8-10 minutes, until the asparagus are just tender. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp champagne vinegar about halfway through the saute, and just a dash of salt and pepper. Remove from heat to cool enough to handle.

Mix 3 eggs with 1 cup half and half, 1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon, 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsely, 1 cup coarsely grated gruyere cheese, and a little salt and pepper.

Remove the 16 longer asparagus spears and set aside. Spread remainder of asparagus and onion mixture into the prepared tart pan. Pour egg mixture over top. Arrange 16 spears on top like spokes on a wheel, pushing them ever so slightly into the egg mixture. Scatter the cherry tomatoes on top. Brush the edges of the crust with an egg wash.

Bake on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes, until golden and just set. You may want to cover the edges with foil for the last 15 minutes of baking time. Let cool slightly before serving. Can be made ahead and frozen, then reheated before serving.

Sing to Your Tart

If you want to sing to your tart too, here’s the music and words!

Grow Old With You

I wanna make you smile whenever you’re sad
Carry you around when your arthritis is bad
All I wann’a do is grow old with you.

I’ll get your medicine when your tummy aches
Build you a fire if the furnace breaks
Oh it could be so nice, growing old with you

I’ll miss you
I’ll kiss you
Give you my coat when you are cold

I’ll need you
I’ll feed you
Even let ya hold the remote control

(Music solo break)

So let me do the dishes in our kitchen sink
Put you to bed if you’ve had too much to drink
I could be the man who grows old with you
I wanna grow old with you