Broccoli Cheddar Quiche
A classic combination.
This recipe was originally created for People Like Pie.
Makes one 8-9 inch quiche.
Ingredients
Broccoli Cheddar Quiche made in the Adventure Kitchen in February 2016.
One disk Pâte Brisée pie crust pastry (half a recipe), cold
Flour for rolling out
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
A few pinches of black pepper
1 cup small cooked and seasoned broccoli florets
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
Instructions
Pre-Bake the Pie Crust
1. Roll the Pâte Brisée into a rough circle about 1/8 inch thick and transfer it into the mold or pie pan. Gently press it into the sides of the pan. Trim and crimp the edges so that they extend just slightly beyond the edges of the pan.
Beans are used as a weight to pre-bake a parchment-lined pie crust.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Carefully place a sheet of parchment over the pastry in the pan, and fill it with beans or pie weights, pressing and folding the paper gently around the sides to ensure a snug fit. Bake on a rimmed baking sheet on the middle oven rack for 9 minutes.
3. Remove the parchment and beans, being very careful not to poke any holes in the pie crust. (You can save the beans for future pie baking. See notes.) Place the uncovered pastry back into the oven on the rimmed sheet to cook for another 3-4 minutes, until it looks "set" and the edges are just starting to brown slightly. The center may be puffed up a bit, and will probably deflate over the next few minutes. (Don't try to help it deflate by piercing it with a fork or anything; this would create spaces for the quiche filling to leak through and burn later on.) Rest the quiche shell in its mold or pan on a rack until you are ready to fill it.
Fill 'Er Up
4. Move the oven rack up one space from the middle position and turn the oven down to 375 degrees. Whisk the eggs in a large bowl with the milk, salt and pepper.
5. Evenly distribute half the cheese across the bottom of the pie shell, then follow with all of the broccoli florets. Cover the broccoli with the other half of the cheese, up to about 3/4 of the way to the top of the crust. Pour the egg/milk mixture into the pie shell up to 3/4 of the way to the top of the crust. You may not need to use all of it - the quiche will puff up during cooking, so don't fill the shell all the way to the top. Use your fingers to gently press the other ingredients down into the egg/milk mixture, so that everything is moistened. This will help keep them from scorching during cooking.
Bake and Finish
6. Put the quiche back on the rimmed baking sheet and slide it into the oven. Baking time will vary depending on the depth of the ingredients in the crust, which can depend on the type of pie pan you are using. Here are the times I've found have worked in my kitchen:
Standard 8-inch pie pan: 25-35 minutes
Standard 9-inch pie pan: 30-40 minutes
8-inch springform pan (shown): 40-50 minutes
The quiche will be finished when it seems fairly solid and not wet, somewhat puffed, and beginning to brown across the top.
Removing quiche from springform pan. Pan is set on top of a jar, then the outer rim is loosened and slid downward, off of the quiche.
7. Let the quiche rest on a rack for about 5 minutes. If using a springform pan, remove the quiche from the pan before serving, like this:
Set the pan on a tall narrow object like a jar. Loosen the sides and slide the outer rim down, off of the quiche. Then, slide the quiche off the pan bottom onto a rack to finish cooling.
If using a standard pie pan, serve the quiche directly out of that pan.
Notes:
A classic quiche is baked in a straight-sided mold like a springform pan or flan mold. The pan is removed before serving, so the quiche is served free-standing. In the United States, quiche is often baked in a standard pie pan. You can do it either way.
I'm including a link to a good springform pan on Amazon in case you're in the market for one.