Zucchini Quiche

 

I don't have a zucchini "problem" as it were.  I live right outside the downtown area of a major city and neither I nor anyone I know around here grows their own zucchini.  However, growing up, my grandmother's garden always provided us with many more zucchini than we could actually eat.  Each morning, she would go out to her garden and return with a new zucchini or two; they would inevitably end up piled on the counter next to the sink, waiting to be consumed.
Naturally, we ate a lot of zucchini.  Zucchini bread, zucchini fritatta, zucchini muffins, and stuffed zucchini made regular appearances in our home.  And then there were zucchini blossoms.  Even though I cannot remember the last time I was home for zucchini season, I still remember the wonderful smell of my grandmother frying up those flour-dredged flowers.  They were such a rare treat and I looked forward to them each summer.

 

So you see, for me zucchini season is filled with nostalgia and childhood memories.  Perhaps it is for that reason that I love zucchini.  On the other hand, maybe I love it because it is delicious.  Either way, when I see it at the farmer's market in August, I can't stop myself from buying it each week.  The result?  Much like those who grow their own, I find myself eating a bowl of zucchini salad or a slice of zucchini bread and wondering what I should do with the zucchini still sitting on my counter.   And you know what?  I'm quite okay with it.

Last week I decided to do something new and exciting.  I made zucchini quiche and I have to say that it was delicious.  There are fewer eggs in this recipe than in most quiche recipes and it doesn't call for any cream or milk, so expect the vegetables and cheese to be front and center.  I was a little skeptical when I first read the recipe, but my skepticism was for naught.   Together with a leafy green salad, this quiche made an excellent dinner and I was even able to stick a few leftover pieces into the freezer for later. 

 

 

Zucchini Quiche

Slightly adapted from tasteofhome.com

Yield: 6-8 slices

 

4 cups of zucchini, thinly sliced (I used 2 cups of green zucchini and 2 cups of yellow zucchini)
1/4 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 eggs, beaten
1 minced garlic clove
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp white pepper
1 1/2 tsp prepared mustard
2 cups mild cheddar cheese, grated
1 pie crust (This is the recipe I use)

 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Roll out pie dough into a 9" deep dish pie pan and set aside (for a flaky crust, it is best to keep it cold and keep it in the fridge.
3. Saute the vegetables in oil until cooked and then drain well to keep the quiche from being soggy. 
4. In a large bowl, beat eggs.  Whisk in herbs, salt, and mustard.
5. Stir in vegetables and cheese.
6. Empty egg and vegetable mixture into the pie crust.
7. Bake for approximately 35-40 minutes.  At the 25 minute mark, cover the edges of the pie with aluminum foil to prevent the crust from browning too much.

Calories:  331 per slice (if you cut it into 8 slices)

Individual Berry Crisps

I love pies, crisps, crumbles, and cobblers.  In fact, I love them a little too much because they don't last very long around here.  We won't even discuss the brief lifespan of the last cherry pie I bought. 

Fortunately, I have found a way to continue enjoying crisps without overindulging.  I make the crisp mix, put it in a container in the fridge, and then I use what I need to make my husband and I each one 1/2 cup serving of dessert.  Not only does it keep us both from going back for seconds, but it also means that our dessert is always freshly baked.  Truly a win-win situation.

Another bonus with this recipe is that there isn't any sugar in with the fruit so the only sugar present comes from the crumb mix.  I know many people do sweeten their fruit, but I personally don't find it necessary and I would even go so far as to say that I prefer mine unsweetened.

Individual Berry Crisps
Yield: 6-4 oz crisps

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp butter, diced
2 3/4 cups fruit (e.g. mixed berries, cubed peaches, cubed nectarines, etc.)

1. Mix together flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
2. Rub butter into the flour mixture until the texture is that of coarse meal.
3. You can either store this in the fridge to be used as needed or you can use it all immediately.
4. When you are ready to bake crisps, preheat oven to 375.
5. Butter 4 oz ramekins and fill with fruit, leaving a little bit of space for the topping.
6. Spoon about 1/6th of the crumb mixture into each ramekin and pack it in lightly.
7. Place in oven on top of a cookie sheet so that any fruit leaking over doesn't fall onto the bottom of your oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes. 
8. Let cool and serve warm or at room temperature.

Calories: 187 per serving (using blueberries)

TWD: Pizza Rustica

I have always loved a good ricotta-based entree--especially when the ricotta happens to be in a savory pie.  I have also had a long-standing relationship with prosciutto.  I simply can't get enough of it.  So, I was obviously happy to be makng this dish this month.  Also, because I could serve it for dinner, I could take care of  my TWD obligations and a few nights worth of dinner all at the same time.  It really doesn't get any better than that.

Over all, the pizza was good, but not quite as good as I had hoped.  To me, the flavor of this dish was a little flat.  I think it could have used more herbs and spices to liven it up a bit.  I also think that it would have been good with some spinach, mushrooms, and artichokes accompanying the prosciutto. 

Before making the recipe this time, I read the P & Q discussions and made some changes in response to some of the criticisms of the recipe people posted there.  First,I cut the amount of sugar in the dough in half because people were saying it was too sweet.  With only half of the amount, there was still a nice contrast between a slightly salty filling and a barely sweet dough, but the dough was not so sweet that I felt it would be better suited for a dessert. Second, I increased the amount of prosciutto to six ounces.  The recipe was very good this way and, as far as I am concerned, more prosciutto is almost always an improvement!

Much like the Irish Soda Bread, for me, this recipe isn't one that I would make again and again as it is written, but I would more than happily make it with some more flavorful additions.  I might even make it again for Easter, but before I do that, I have to make my Grandmother's traditional Italian Easter Bread.  It is a simple yeast sweet bread that we eat every year on Easter Sunday.  It is really easy to make and flavored with lemon rind and cinnamon, which are two very traditional Italian dessert flavors.  I will be posting that recipe later this week.

If you are interested in trying this recipe for yourself, please visit Capital Region Dining or The Place They Call Home.

TWD: Chocolate Truffle Tart

Before I even looked at this recipe, I knew that I would have to make this one on a day that I was having company.  The name alone, I thought, conveyed its decadence. It turns out that I was wrong.  I assumed that the tart would be sweet (it was);  require a coffee alongside of it (it did); and pack more calories than my postpartum self cares to consume at the moment (it probably does).  However, what I had not counted on was the intense chocolate flavor coming from the bittersweet chocolate that is the main ingredient in the tart.  In the end, it turns out that the calories don't concern me that much because I can't eat more than a sliver of this dessert before deciding that I am done.  It is actually so rich that even I, a consummate chocoholic, can resist overindulging in it.

Before baking it, I was not sure what to expect in terms of the tart's consistency.   Would the filling be creamy?  Would it be like a mousse?  Or, would it be like a brownie?  As it turns out, the filling has a consistency that is somewhere between that of a fudge brownie and that of a mousse.  It holds its shape perfectly when it is cut and it is soft to the bite, but it is denser than a mousse.  The almost cookie-like chocolate crust and the biscotti pieces that are folded into the filling act as perfect foils to the filling's soft texture.

While the recipe as written makes smaller tartlets, I used a 10" tart pan to make one large tart.  I figured that this would be less time consuming; after all, time is of the essence when you have a four-month-old baby dictating your schedule.  Also, I had spent some extra time making the biscotti for this recipe from scratch, so I figured a shortcut was warranted elsewhere.

Making one tart worked out perfectly.  I found that the crust cooked in 20 minutes and, after that, the filled tart  took another 20 minutes to bake.  While this recipe was time consuming, it was pretty easy.  So easy, in fact, that I think I will make tarts more often from now on.  That said, while I did enjoy this one, I personally prefer tarts with a lighter flavor.  If only strawberries were in season....

If you would like to get the recipe so that you too can indulge in a slice of utter decadence, please visit A Whisk & a Spoon, Spike Bakes, Good Eats and Sweet Treats, or Cookbookhabit.