Customize the filling with whatever you've got on hand with this easy recipe!
Notes from the LHTC Team:
Quiche is a personal favorite (can you go wrong with cheese, eggs and pastry?), and what I love most is that it is so adaptable. Especially now when grocery trips are more infrequent, being able to throw in whatever leftover veggies, meat or cheese you have is perfect. Three of our favorite combos were the Potato & Bacon, Garden Veggie and Ham & Cheddar (recipe variations below) - but feel free to throw in sausage instead of bacon, sub frozen peas for broccoli, any kind of cheese instead of cheddar. Just have fun with it!
Our favorite variations below!
Garden Veggie: broccoli, a shredded carrot, leftover red bell pepper and a few chopped onions
Potato & Bacon: 4 strips of cooked bacon, crumbled (leftover from breakfast, of course), 1 potato, cubed & steamed, shredded cheese (gruyere is great, but use whatever you've got).
Ham & Cheddar: I happened to have some cubed ham leftover in my freezer from the last family gathering - tossed with some shredded cheddar cheese, it makes the perfect quiche filling.
Our favorite pro tip for filling your quiche? Add your filling ingredients first - the vegetables, cheese and meats, then pour your egg mixture over the top to fill in the cracks. It ensures that you've got cheese/meat/veggies in every bite, and you don't have to worry about all of your ingredients sinking to the bottom of your egg mixture before filling.
You might have noticed that we used an unbaked pie shell instead of par-baking it first. Since
these mini tarts are so shallow, even the most minor of shrinking from par-baking meant there wasn't much space for filling. So for mini quiches, we decided to forgo that step to maximize the amount of filling and make them that much easier. To make a large, pie-sized quiche, go ahead and par-bake your crust for about 10 minutes at 375F to keep it from getting too soggy later on (be sure to use pie-weights!).
Mini Quiches
Servings: 4
For the Crust: 2 cups All-Purpose Flour 3⁄4 cup + 2 tablespoons Cornstarch 1⁄2 teaspoon Salt 1 cup Butter, cold & cubed 1⁄4 cup Water, cold 1⁄2 a large Egg (2 tablespoons)* * To halve a raw egg, crack into a small bowl and whisk just until smooth. Measure out 2 tablespoons.
For the Egg Filling 2 Eggs 3⁄4 cup Half & Half (or milk)
1⁄4 teaspoon Salt 1⁄4 teaspoon Pepper
1. Make the crust: In a large bowl, stir together the flour, cornstarch and salt. Add the cold, cubed butter and cut in to the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or fork until the mixture looks sandy and butter pieces are pea sized.
2. Whisk together the water and egg and pour into the flour mixture. Mix together with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. Knead a few times with your hands as necessary to form a cohesive dough. Place on a countertop and pat into a disk about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic wrap to chill at least 1 hour.
3. Roll dough about 1/8 - 1/4 inch thick. Cut and place into tart pans, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use. Can be done 1-2 days in advance.
4. Make the egg filling: whisk together the eggs, half & half, salt and pepper until smooth. Set aside until ready to use.
Garden Veggie 1⁄2 cup Broccoli Florets, chopped small
1 Carrot, shredded 1⁄4 cup Onion, finely chopped 1⁄4 cup Red Bell Pepper, finely chopped
1 tablespoon Olive Oil 1⁄4 cup Parmesan Cheese, finely shredded
Preheat oven to 350F. Steam the broccoli florets and shredded carrot in the microwave until fork tender, let cool. Sauté onion, red bell pepper and olive oil until tender, let cool. Toss together broccoli, shredded carrot and onion-red bell pepper mixture with shredded cheese. Divide amongst unbaked tart shells and pour in egg filling. Depending on the size of your tarts, bake from 20-45 minutes, until filling is set (knife inserted in center should come out clean).
Bacon & Potato
4 slices Bacon, cooked & crumbled 1 small Potato, chopped into small cubes
1⁄4 cup Onion, finely chopped 1 tablespoon Olive Oil 1⁄2 cup Gruyere, Swiss or Muenster, shredded
Preheat oven to 350F. Steam the cubed potato in the microwave until fork tender, let cool. Sauté onion with olive oil until translucent and tender, let cool. Toss together cooled potato, onion and crumbled bacon with shredded cheese. Divide amongst unbaked tart shells and pour in egg filling. Depending on the size of your tarts, bake from 20-45 minutes, until filling is set (knife inserted in center should come out clean).
Ham & Cheddar
1 cup Ham, chopped into small cubes
1⁄2 cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded
Preheat oven to 350F. Toss together ham and shredded cheese. Divide amongst unbaked tart shells and pour in egg filling. Depend- ing on the size of your tarts, bake from 20-45 minutes, until filling is set (knife inserted in center should come out clean).