Vegetable Invasion Quiche

It never fails to make me giggle when I say I haven't made something before and people have a bloody hernia. 

This has happened twice to me in as many weeks. This most recent one was about how I had never made quiche. What? Has everybody in the world made quiche at some point before me? How could I possibly be so out of the loop? I jest with love, of course. 

In fact, I had one dear friend actually exclaim (tweet) "really? I assumed you've made everything, ever".... Um, no. But I do love you for the vote of confidence. 

So apparently there's a rule that quiche is something that just has to be made. And as it turns out, it's true. 

The ease and simplicity of quiche is undeniable. So is the fat content when you add up the pastry, the cream and the cheese. That being said, I love being fat! Okay, that's not true. But I do adore my curves... To a point. And I love to eat fat. For those of you who want to minimize the fat content, I've read that you can substitute milk for the cream and venture sans crust. Personally, I'm gonna fat it up, my friends!

Additionally, the flavor and lightness of this dish make it the perfect weeknight supper. 

And on that note - ah ha! Not all my meals take 2 hours to prepare! See?! Again, something I hear from friends on a regular basis is that my food takes too long to prepare. My response to that? I make slow food from whole ingredients. It's rare that a labelled food product makes it into my kitchen and when it does, it's used minimally. We need to take the time to make and savour our food. Period.

Man, I sound a touch defensive in this post, don't I? On with the quiche!

Vegetable Invasion Quiche

(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

1 Crust.
4 Large Free-Range Organic Eggs.
3/4 C Cream (or Milk).
3/4 - 1 C Swiss Gruyere Cheese, grated.
1 Medium Onion, sliced.
2 Leeks, cleaned, cut in half, and then sliced.
1 Head Bok Choy, cleaned & chopped.
1/2 Head Radicchio, chopped.
Small Handful of Italian Flat-Leaf Parsley, roughly chopped.
1 Tbsp Fresh Thyme, chopped.
Pinch of Nutmeg.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Kosher Salt & Fresh Cracked Pepper.

 What to Do:

Lay crust in a 9" dish & heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat a large saute pan over medium heat with a good glug of olive oil. Once hot, add the onions. Allow to begin to caramelize quite a bit, stirring often, and then add the leeks. Stir well. You may want to add a little bit more oil at this point or a tad of butter - your call. Make sure they don't burn though!

Once both leeks and onions have a good deal of color on them, remove from heat and place in a bowl. Return the pan to the burner and carefully pour in 1/2 C of water and then toss in the bok choy, covering with a lid. Allow to steam for about 3-5 minutes or until wilted. Drain well. Set with the leeky onion mixture.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream or milk, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well to combine.

Pour into the prepared crust. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean and the top is golden and delicious looking.

Remove from the oven and let set for about 5 to 10 minutes.

Eat.

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