The first round of broccoli is in full swing and wow are we about to get buried in it. I’m going to be blanching and freezing like there’s no tomorrow before the long weekend is over. I’d like to believe we’ll keep up, but we won’t, and so we may as well put it away for winter.
Tonight was spent weeding the landscaping beds (me) and mowing (Mike) in preparation for the 30+ people now joining us for the 4th of July. We’re excited to have everyone, but so are so far behind in our preparations. The only thing really done is the food procurement. We still need to clean the house, declutter and sweep the porch, put up the new kitchen light fixture, weed the herb garden (maybe not), set up the tables and chairs outside, pick up the keg, dig the horseshoe pits, prep the food, finish mowing and get ready to relax.
Wow, that’s a lot to do in 36 hours. The reality is it won’t all get done. We’ll do our best and then remind ourselves that no one but us will notice that it’s not perfect.
In the meantime, tonight’s dinner resulted from a need to use some bacon in the fridge and my desire for something easy. I turned to one of my favorite food writers, Mark Bittman, for ideas. And as I perused old Minimalist columns and Daily Recipes I remembered that he’d posted guidelines for a crustless quiche, or savory tart, a while ago. Off I went to hunt it up. If you don’t read his blog, Bitten, or his column, The Minimalist, you’re really missing out.
Yeah, I could probably make quiche on my own, but it’s always fun to refer to someone else’s guidelines. In the end I threw together a local, seasonal variation of Quiche Lorraine that was crustless and used some of the aforementioned broccoli. And paired with a salad it was just what was called for by a late night dinner. Pardon the bad photo, I was hungry…
*****
Crustless Quiche Lorraine with Broccoli
adapted from Mark Bittman’s Crustless Quiche
serves 4
8 slices bacon, sliced into 1/4″ strips
1 spring onion (just the white)
1 small head broccoli, just the florets
3/4 cup hard cheese (I used cheddar)
3 large eggs
1 cup cream, half & half, milk or a mixture (I used 1/2 cream, 1/2 milk)
pinch of salt
butter for the dish
1. Cook the bacon until about half done. Add the onion. Just before the bacon is crispy and the onions soft, add the broccoli florets. Done when florets are bright green and al dente.
2. While the bacon, etc. is cooking, whisk together the cream, eggs, salt and cheese. Butter a pie pan or 4 to 6 ramekins if you’d rather. Preheat the oven to 325 F.
3. Add the bacon mixture to the eggs and whisk together. Pour into buttered dish(es).
4. Bake for 20 - 30 minutes or until just jiggly in the center. Cool and serve.
We ate it hot, but it’s better if you leave it until it’s room temperature. And actually, it’s best the next day for breakfast. What was so nice about it tonight is the salad, broccoli, onion and eggs were all from our gardens. Fresh and local.
I thought the same thing earlier this week… so much good broccoli coming in from my CSA and the farmers’ market! I did actually make a crust for my quiche (in the morning… I had a good amount of free time then) and then made the broccoli-cheddar filling and baked it after getting home from the garden. Heaven! especially with a salad fresh from the garden. Oh, happy days…
That looks amazing!
We love quiche but I’m always a bit hesitant with all that crust. So much fat involved…(:
Going to check out Mark Bittman, didn’t he do the bread thing?
Jennifer - Happy days indeed!
Michelle - I know! I always want quiche, and we both really love it, but I never want to take the time to make crust. This is a nice compromise. He’s written about the no-knead bread but I don’t think he was the originator.
Wow, Laura, that quiche looks fabulous! Organically grown broccoli is one of the vegetables that I think truly tastes different than its commercial counterpart. Home grown must be that much better. I’m happy to hear you’ll be able to eat it year round!
I go to Spain pretty frequently. I’m a fairly picky eater - largely due to the fact that I have a boatload of food allergies - have since I was a young’un. One of my ALL TIME FAVORITE things to eat when I’m in Spain is something called “Tortilla de Patata” - I have a recipe for it somewhere around here, I’ll have to dig it out.
Anyway, it’s very much along the lines of a frittata, but - well, frankly, I like them better. They are very simple. It’s an eggy-type custard much like a quiche or frittata - it’s the rest of it that makes it just shine! Take thinly sliced potatoes (I like yukon golds or baby reds), saute them briefly in olive oil, lightly salt them. Drain them and put them aside. I’m a “con cebolla” type of girl, so I always add the onions! Next, saute some sweet onions - again, drain and set aside. In Spain, they will oil (with olive oil, of course!) the pan, layer the potatoes and onions, then pour in the custard. Now bake until done! I particularly love this dish in company of a lovely white Spanish cheese like trouchou or mahon. Yummy!
That all being said - I am having a little bit of broccoli crustless quiche envy - yours looks delectible!
We have been eating a lot of frittata/quiche here as well. We often aim for quiche but get lazy at about crust-making time, and end up with frittata instead. It’s so easy and versatile, and makes good lunch leftovers …
I have been meaning to try a real Spanish tortilla, but haven’t yet. I just got some lovely potatoes at the Poulsbo market though so perhaps that will be on the agenda tonight.