Does anybody else out there just love a really good quiche?
That cheesy, perfectly set egg custard filled with additional ingredients of your choosing baked inside a buttery crust?
Le drool.
Our neighborhood grocery store in Colorado sells EXTREMELY good ones, but they are so dang pricey that it’s hard to justify buying them at the rate we could go through them. But they have the perfect consistency and are so delicious. I know a few people who have chickens at home and therefore an excess of eggs, and this is a prime way to use a few up at once. Quiche can even be frozen after baking for anyone prepping meals in advance!
I’ve been sitting on this recipe for years and I’ve never even made a quiche before!! FIRST TIMER over here.
But let me tell you, it was really, REALLY good. So I’m sharing it with you.
I found this bad mama-jama on Cooks.com so long ago that I don’t have the user name who submitted it. So if that person happens to be you, I worship your skills, and you can contact me through the Contact tab.
This quiche contains a whole lot of fresh and healthy zucchini, lightly sauteéd with butter and green onions and then baked in a store-bought refrigerated pie shell with a cheesy egg custard on top. I really haven’t done a whole lot of baking when it comes to pies or other goodies, so learning how to make a pretty pie crust was another new thing for me! So simple, just requires your hands and a fork. Noooooow I know.
As Sammy always says (and it’s kind of become my motto): “Every day’s a school day!”
I used my spiralizer to help me out in getting it sliced up to just the way I wanted it. I received my spiralizer as a wedding present and let me tell you, I FRIGGIN’ LOVE THIS THING. It makes the perfect zoodles (zucchini noodles) that are a superb replacement to pasta, thin grated vegetables, or curly fries, all of which I use it for frequently and it’s SO easy. I highly recommend this thing to anyone who knows the excitement and ease of kitchen gadgets! There are plenty of zoodle and spiralizer cookbooks on the market as well.
This particular spiralizer comes with three different blades to produce different types of dishes and it even has little suction cup feet that stick to your counter while you are using it so it doesn’t slide around all over the place. Which is a plus. Cuz things that pass through the blade produce a lot of juice.
Here’s my spiralizer and the thin slicing blade I used:
I can’t tell you guys enough how this thing has made my life easier in the kitchen! So I’ll just leave it at that and move on…
A grater could just as well be used to coarsely grate your zucchini, it just requires a little more elbow grease. There’s nothin’ wrong with that!
After spiralizing, I chopped up the thin slices a bit. Adding salt and letting it sit helps draw out any extra moisture from the zucchini so it doesn’t cause the crust to come out soggy or the eggs not to set properly.
The zucchini gets lightly sauteéd along with green chiles (from a can or fresh, but I prefer spicy and fresh!) and a little flour to thicken up the filling. Once in the shell, add a layer of cheese, the egg mixture, and a little more cheese (why not?) and bake until the custard is set.
Holy crap you guys. You have to trust me on this one.
We destroyed the whole thing in about two days between the two of us and it will DEFINITELY be made again in my household! Let me know if you decide to try it and if you love it as much as we do 🙂
Zucchini Green Chile Quiche
Ingredients
- 1 refrigerated 9" pie pastry
- 3 c. unpeeled zucchini coarsely grated, or thinly sliced with spiralizer and chopped
- salt
- 1 4 oz. can whole green chiles OR fresh chopped jalapeño
- 3/4 c. sliced green onions and tops (about 6)
- 1-1/2 Tbsp. Butter
- 1 Tbsp. flour
- 1 c. grated Cheddar cheese
- 1/2 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 3 eggs
- 1-1/2 c. undiluted evaporated milk or cream
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F. Unroll pastry and press into 9" pie plate. Turn the pastry overhang underneath to thicken the crust and press to rim with a fork.
- Either thinly slice with a spiralizer and chop, or grate zucchini and sprinkle with salt. Let stand 30 minutes, then squeeze moisture out and blot dry.
- Rinse and seed chiles, blot dry, and cut into 1/2 inch pieces if using canned chiles. If using jalapeño, finely dice. Cook green onions slowly in melted butter about 1 minute.
- Stir in zucchini and heat a few minutes only, until glazed with butter. Blend in flour and spread mixture into shell.
- Sprinkle with half the cheese and half of the chiles. Beat eggs and milk together and season lightly with salt and pepper. Pour over zucchini in shell and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
- Bake at 400° F for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350° F and bake 20-25 minutes longer until custard is set. Cool 15 minutes before cutting.
Looks so pretty and delicious!