DC-Inspired Recipes: Herb Zucchini Quiche by Laura

DC-Inspired Recipes are by Laura of Lauralicious in DC.

This week’s recipe combines two mid-Atlantic summer staples, zucchini and fresh herbs from the garden. I was thinking about how to use up all the zucchini I got from my local farmer’s market. Quiche is a dish that’s fun to make and is easy to pack in the next day’s lunch. It would be a great Sunday evening dish. You’ll need a couple of hours to prep the crust, make the filling, and bake the pie. The trade-off is that it makes a big 9-10″ pie with 6 servings, and it keeps well for a few days at a time. Those that don’t like zucchini can of course use other vegetables as part of the filling.

Herbed Zucchini Quiche

* 2 tbsp Olive oil
* 2 Garlic cloves; peeled and chopped
* 1 Medium yellow onion; peeled and chopped
* 2 tbsp Chopped fresh herbs (basil, parsley, rosemary, oregano, or thyme)
* 6 Eggs
* 1/4 cup Sour cream
* 1/3 cup Heavy cream
* 2 or 3 zucchini, sliced thinly with a box grater

For the Pastry – Use a pre-made crust or make it your own:
1 1/4 cup sifted flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/4 cup ice water

Continues after the jump.

Equipment: Electric mixer with pastry hooks; rolling pin or glass bottle filled with water; cutting board; 8-10″ pie pan

1. First, make the crust.
Preheat oven to 425 F. Combine the flour and sugar in the mixing bowl. Mix in the shortening with the pastry hooks until the mixture makes small crumbs. Mix in the water slowly with a fork. Now you are ready to work the dough. Roll it out with a rolling pin, or if you don’t have a rolling pin, use an old wine bottle (the kind with the screw top) filled with ice water. Just dust it lightly with flour as needed, and you’ll be good to roll. Roll out the dough into a circle that’s about 2-3″ wider than your pie pan. Then, using the rolling pin to help lift one side of the dough, carefully transfer it to the pie pan. Flatten it out and fill in the cracks. For a nice presentation, crimp the edges of the crust into a “fluted” (wavy) edge by gently pinching the dough with your fingers. Poke the crust a few times with a fork, then cover the bottom with some parchment or wax paper. Cook the crust in the oven for 7 minutes, then remove it.

2. Next, make the filling.
Saute the garlic and onion in oil. When the onion is “clear,” add the herbs. In a separate bowl, hand-beat the eggs (yes, you will need 6!), then beat in the sour cream and heavy cream.

3. Assemble the quiche.
Preheat oven to 400 F. Starting with the egg mixture, layer the egg, onion, and zucchini, until you finish with the egg mixture. On the top layer of zucchini, for bonus points, arrange the zucchini slices to overlap in concentric circles. Bake at 400 F for 30 minutes, then at 350 for 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Do any of you have any other favorite ways to use this summer’s zucchini?