French vegetarian quiche

Claire worked and wrote for Sight Seeker’s Delight for 7 years – read more here.

This easy quiche recipe will definitely impress your friends – vegetarian and meat-eaters alike.

Vegetable quiche

I used to think I didn’t like quiche.

Too dry, too spongy, too flavorless, just… meh.

You know what I mean? Have you had this experience?

I guarantee you: this quiche recipe will change all of that.

Quiche slice

A lot of it comes from the ratio of egg to creme fraiche. (Hint: this is good to keep in mind if you’ll be scaling this recipe up or down.)

eggs creme fraiche

The flavorfulness of your cheese makes a big difference, too. Well, what’d you expect: this is France! We are OBSESSED with fromage.

raw quiche

Before we get into the recipe, how about a bit of history? We’ll start with the most famous quiche, Quiche Lorraine. This is a pretty simple quiche with delicious, delicious smoked bacon, which was developed in… you guessed it: the Lorraine region of France.

That region of France as you’ll notice is right on the border of Germany. And it just so happens that when quiche was invented, that region… um… wasn’t really France. It was Germany, in the medieval kingdom of “Lothringen”.

I know, it sounds like a town from Lord of the Rings but it’s a real place, promise.

France Lorraine

The French later renamed the region Lorraine, but the word ‘quiche’ (which originated from the German word for cake) stuck. So is the quiche French, or German?

To be honest I’m not going to think on it too much and instead just going to eat this bad boy. You should too. Let’s get to it!

quiche crust

quiche veggies

By the way: for more tasty info on the history of French food and culture, this Tickle Your Tastebuds tasting tour should absolutely be part of your Paris vacation. Use discount code QUICHE for 5 euros off!

French vegetarian quiche


Adapted from Herve Cuisine
Makes: 1 quiche (4-6 people)
Great as: Lunch
Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

    – 1 ‘pate brisee’ pastry roll – or make your own
    – 1 large onion, diced
    – 1 large red pepper, diced
    – 1 zucchini, diced
    – 1 Tbsp olive oil
    – 1 pinch French provincial herbs (herbes de Provence)
    – salt & pepper to taste
    – 250 ml creme fraiche (you can use sour cream if you can’t find this)
    – 3 large eggs
    – 1 Tbsp French Dijon mustard like Maille brand (do not use “regular” mustard)
    – 100g Comte or Gruyere cheese, grated

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 180 C.
  2. Grease the sides of a small springform pan. Pres the raw crust into the pan softly, being sure to press into the edges for that nice 90 degree angle baker’s edge.
  3. Line the crust with parchment or wax paper. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Put in oven for 15 minutes.
  4. After 15 minutes, take crust out of oven and remove the weights/beans and parchment paper. Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork – every inch or two. Put back in oven for an additional 15 minutes.
  5. In the meantime, heat the onions in oil in a pan over medium heat. When they are translucent (about 3-4 minutes), add the red pepper and zucchini. Cook for a few minutes, then add salt and pepper. Cook for another 5-8 minutes until the zucchini is soft (how soft is up to you).
  6. In a bowl mix the eggs, creme fraiche, herbs, and mustard. Mix well.
  7. Once the tart crust is out of the oven, fill with vegetables and 3/4 of the cheese. Mix things around so the cheese is throughout.
  8. Pour the egg mixture over the veggies and cheese. Top with the remaining cheese.
  9. Bake for 35-45 minutes. The quiche top should be golden, and when inserting a toothpick in the center there should be no raw egg.
  10. Enjoy with a fresh green salad and an easy French vinaigrette.

Let us know in the comments how your quiche turned out!

quiche sliced

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