My Favorite Quiche Recipe

My neighbor, Susan, comes up from Denver once a month. Enjoying a Sunday morning breakfast of quiche and conversation has become my favorite part of her visits. 

I hadn't made quiche in ages and her delicious quiche, made with whatever bits of vegetables and cheese Susan had picked up for her weekend meals, gave me a new perspective on what a quiche could taste like. 

During her last visit, Susan described a tall quiche made at a local bistro in Denver that was taller rather than the traditional pie-pan height. This reminded me of a recipe I'd seen in David Lebovitz, My Paris Kitchen. 

Here's my version:

For the quiche crust: 

I use a store bought pie crust (Susan's inspiration and it's honestly better than my homemade efforts) and then roll out the pie crust on a lightly floured surface. To bake the quiche you can use either a springform cake pan, or as I did in these photos, a 3-quart soufflé dish with 3 inch sides. With either dish, butter the sides of the pan, and line with parchment paper if you're using the springform pan. Roll out the pie crust to fit the pan. Pre-bake for 10 minutes in a pre-heated 375F oven.

For the custard filling, I use David Lebovitz' recipe for the custard:

Mix together in a bowl:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
8 ounces cream cheese
4 large eggs
2 egg yolks
fresh scraping of nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste

For the filling:

1 1/2 cups of your favorite grated cheese. This is the perfect chance to try out cheeses you find on sale in the cheese section of your grocery store. Enjoy trying something different than the usual cheddar or Swiss cheese.

Saute 1 1/2 cups of your favorite bits of vegetables you find in the fridge: mushrooms, zucchini, onions, grated carrots, spinach or other greens, shallots,

I cup of cooked bacon or ham

In David's recipe he used 1 diced pear, 1 cup of diced boiled ham, 1 1/2 cups crumbled blue cheese or Roquefert, 6 shallots sauted, 2 Tablespoons of minced flat-leaf parsley

Bake at 375F for 45 to 50 minutes