Angela DealeCrustless veggie quiche and rösti
Quiche goes over well in our home, as do practically all egg-based dishes. There's just something about sauted vegetables, meat, and cheese, bound in an egg mixture, and then baked to perfection. It's infinite and forgiving in its variations; throw together a quiche with odds and ends from the fridge and freezer, and you have a economical and delicious meal.
I had a bunch of broccoli in the fridge that I wanted to use, and quiche sounded like just the thing. I love to saute broccoli in butter until it turns a bright cheery green, and it looks great in quiche. For added colour, I used scallions and red pepper in the quiche as well. Also, I opted to make this quiche crustless, partly because I wanted to lower the carb content of the meal, but mostly because I was lazy and didn't want to make a crust. (As an aside, my usual pie crust uses vegetable shortening and a four-hour chill time.) And while quiche and salad make a great pair, I wanted to do something a little different yet complementary for a side dish. So I decided to make rösti.
Rösti (or roesti) is a fried potato cake, Swiss in origin, that's often compared to hash browns and potato latkes. It's simple and delicious fare, and easy to make; simply fry grated potato, plus other ingredients as desired; add some milk, and fry over low heat to achieve a brown crispy underside. Then, invert the rösti with a swift, deft motion onto a serving plate. But rösti takes time to prepare, so plan ahead: the potatoes must be cooked and chilled overnight before frying.
Note: To save time by multi-tasking, I cooked the potatoes on the skillet while the quiche was baking in the oven.
Rösti with apple and cheese
Ingredients (4 side dish servings)
Directions
Crustless Veggie Quiche
Ingredients (one 9" pie, 8 servings)
Directions
I had a bunch of broccoli in the fridge that I wanted to use, and quiche sounded like just the thing. I love to saute broccoli in butter until it turns a bright cheery green, and it looks great in quiche. For added colour, I used scallions and red pepper in the quiche as well. Also, I opted to make this quiche crustless, partly because I wanted to lower the carb content of the meal, but mostly because I was lazy and didn't want to make a crust. (As an aside, my usual pie crust uses vegetable shortening and a four-hour chill time.) And while quiche and salad make a great pair, I wanted to do something a little different yet complementary for a side dish. So I decided to make rösti.
Rösti (or roesti) is a fried potato cake, Swiss in origin, that's often compared to hash browns and potato latkes. It's simple and delicious fare, and easy to make; simply fry grated potato, plus other ingredients as desired; add some milk, and fry over low heat to achieve a brown crispy underside. Then, invert the rösti with a swift, deft motion onto a serving plate. But rösti takes time to prepare, so plan ahead: the potatoes must be cooked and chilled overnight before frying.
Note: To save time by multi-tasking, I cooked the potatoes on the skillet while the quiche was baking in the oven.
Rösti with apple and cheese
Ingredients (4 side dish servings)
- 1.25 pounds potatoes, scrubbed
- 1.5 tsp margarine
- 1/2 an apple, tart variety preferred
- 2-3 tbsp grated cheddar cheese
- 2 tbsp milk
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Cook the potatoes, whole and unpeeled, in a pot of water over medium-high heat until they are just tender enough to pierce with a fork, about 15 minutes. Be careful: over-cooking the potatoes makes them difficult to grate without making a mushy mess. Drain the potatoes and refrigerate them overnight.
- Grate the potatoes into a large bowl. I kept the skins on for texture and flavour, but traditionally the potatoes are peeled before grating.
- Grate the half-apple into the bowl. (I also kept the apple skin on.) Add the cheese. Mix well.
- Melt the margarine in a skillet (I used a 7" one) over medium heat and brush it up the sides; add the grated potatoes, apple, and cheese. Press the potatoes into the bottom and sides of the skillet using a spatula. Sprinkle the milk over the potatoes.
- Cover the skillet with a large plate. Keep an ear open for the sizzle of the potatoes, which takes about 5 minutes. Then, reduce the heat to low. Cook the potatoes until a brown crust forms on the bottom and sides, about 30 minutes. You might want to check at 20 minutes, just in case.
- Flip the rösti onto the plate to serve.
Crustless Veggie Quiche
Ingredients (one 9" pie, 8 servings)
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 1 stalk scallion, chopped
- 2.5 cups chopped broccoli
- handul of thinly sliced red pepper
- 6 large mushrooms, sliced
- 3 oz feta, crumbled
- 4 oz shredded mozzarella and cheddar
- pepper to taste
- herbes de Provence to taste
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup milk
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Over medium heat, saute garlic, onion, and scallion until the onion is translucent.
- Stir in broccoli, mushrooms, and peppers, and saute for a few more minutes and the broccoli turns a cheery bright green. Season with herbs and mix in cheeses. Spoon mixture into pie plate.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Season with pepper. Pour into the plate, allowing egg mixture to thoroughly combine with other ingredients.
- Bake in preheated oven for about 50 minutes, or until set in center. Allow to stand 10 minutes before serving. (I didn't wait, because we were sooo hungry. Hence, the slices looked kind of messy--but still yummy!)
