Vegetable and Goat Cheese Quiche

Hi friends!  So this past Valentine’s weekend was full of raucous fun and good times.  In a non-romantic way. We had several college friends who flew in from out of town and we spent the weekend misbehaving and eating at lots of restaurants.  I reminded myself about the good ole days of getting a family of 5 into restaurants.  And also reminded myself why Dave and I don’t go out to the fancier restaurants often (my wallet is ouch-ing).

Anyway, my goal (as usual) was to convince everyone that they should move to San Diego to be closer to me.  And, naturally, I am not above bribing people with food.

(I may or may not have entered into an arrangement where one of my visiting friends will provide SEO services in exchange for intermittent baked goods…)

Also we played Settlers of Catan.  Lots of it.  We are those people.  (Read: as cool as Adam Scott).

So not to bore you with too many non-food related details, but I’m definitely going to bore you with some non-food related details. (This is my blog and I do what I want!)

We started out the weekend with me, funemployed (I’m taking some time off between jobs..), hanging out with my friend who is actually employed but get’s to work from home. I made us quiche.  And then didn’t photograph it, because, well, it’s kinda awkward to say “hey let’s delay our meal by at least an hour while I fiddle with my camera and climb all over my kitchen and cry when things go wrong!”

But, seriously, it was so good that I semi regretted my decision to nix the photography and we all ate quiche all weekend and extolled the virtues of eggy custard in a crisp tender shell.

I think goat cheese was also similarly praised.

The rest of the weekend was intermittently spent at various beaches, meandering different neighborhoods, and showing the friends around town.  Coronado was visited.  As well as Point Loma, Mount Soledad, and Torrey Pines.

We also took 7 separate trips to the airport for various arrivals, departures, delays, and key retrieval… We also relived our engagement story at Sunset Cliffs.  Awwwww, right?  Dave is the classiest.

And of course we hit up all my favorite restaurants, because, obviously.  A new find that I’d recommend to anyone that is interested is Madison in University Heights. We were big fans of the small plates and cocktails especially.  And the atmosphere is very modern and relaxing.  It is a place to take one’s parents. (Hi Mom and Dad! We are definitely going there!)

Anyway, so after briefly grieving the departure of my friends on Monday, but also relishing the fact that I would not be returning to the San Diego airport for quite some time, I decided that the quiche from Friday was to be recreated for the dual purposes of my solo consumption as well as internet immortalization.

Anyway.  This quiche.

It is a vegetable and goat cheese quiche.  And by vegetable we’re talking broccoli, roasted red peppers (from a jar) and chives.  And the entire thing is dotted with creamy goat cheese.  If you elect to make this- and I would argue that you absolutely should- be aware of a few things. The recipe does not require you to blind bake the shell.  It will still be tender and fully cooked.  Also, the broccoli does not need to pre-cooked like many recipes suggest.  This was a bold maneuver on my part and I definitely think it was a win; the broccoli was a delightful al-dente- definitely the texture I prefer.

Then finally the goat cheese- I dropped large pieces all over the quiche.  Do not skimp on the cheese!  The end result will have you diving in to find the tart and creamy pockets amongst the vegetables.The quiche will also puff up significantly in the oven.  This is normal.  When you take it out it will settle down to normal quiche size after just a few minutes.I know many quiche recipes that tell you chill the quiche overnight before eating.  You can… I suppose… but I prefer to wait only until the quiche is cool enough to the touch. Then I dive right in. Like I’ve always said, delayed gratification isn’t really my strong suit… Enjoy!

Vegetable and Goat Cheese Quiche

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Prep Time 40 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Ingredients

  

_For the 11-inch tart crust:_

• 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• 1 stick very cold butter cut into cubes
• 1 egg
• 1-2 tablespoons ice water

_For the filling:_

• 5 large eggs
• 1 ½ cups half and half
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ¼ cup minced chives
• ½ head of uncooked broccoli sliced into 3-4 inch floret pieces
• 2/3 cup sliced roasted red peppers
• 4 oz goat cheese crumbled

Instructions

 

• In a food processor combine the flour, salt, and sugar. Pulse a few times to mix.
• Next add butter and process until butter is incorporated and textures is like wet sand.
• Whisk the egg with 1 tablespoon water. With food processor running, drizzle the egg mixture into the batter. It should come together in the processor. If it's too dry add a little more water, if too wet add a little more flour.
• Turn dough out onto plastic wrap and form into a disc. Chill for 30 minutes or freeze for about 15 minutes.
• Roll out the crust until it's about ¼ inch thick. I usually do this on parchment to prevent sticking.
• Gently drape pastry into an 11-inch non-stick tart pan. Press into the sides and using rolling pin or your hands, remove any excess from the edges.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and start preparing the filling.
• In a medium bowl, combine eggs, half and half, salt and pepper to taste, and chives. Whisk thoroughly.
• Pour mixture into the unbaked tart shell.
• Next, distribute the sliced broccoli and roasted red peppers evenly throughout the custard.
• Crumble goat cheese over the entire mixture.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes or until lightly browned and set. It will puff up significantly during baking and then settle back down as it cools.
• Cool on cooling rack in the tart pan; remove quiche from tart pan after quiche has cooled enough to handle. It is best served warm or at room temperature.