Courgette Quiche

This courgette quiche recipe with golden flaky pastry and a cheesey courgette filling is delicious warm or cold and is great for picnics, summer brunches or lunch. Once you have tried this homemade quiche, you’ll never buy quiche again!

Jump to:

• Why we love this quiche recipe
• Ingredients Notes and Substitutions
• How To Make This Courgette Quiche Recipe
• FAQ
• Storage
• My Recipe Tips
• What to serve with quiche
• More vegetarian summer recipes
• Courgette Quiche

This easy courgette quiche is to me, the taste of the end of summer when the evenings are cooling – and courgettes feature heavily in most dinners one way or another. Frying the courgette in a little olive oil until slightly caramelized is one of my favourite ways of cooking courgette as it enhances their delicate flavour. Combined with cheddar cheese and a custard made with eggs and milk, then poured into a 3-ingredient buttery flaky pastry crust, this quiche really is a beautiful courgette recipe.

Why we love this quiche recipe

• This easy vegetarian dinner is a delicious recipe for courgettes, alongside my courgette soup with basil.
• Can be made ahead – I find quiche a useful meal for making in the morning if you know you have a busy afternoon, or if family members are eating at different times.
• Versatile – like Spanish tortilla and quiche lorraine, this is perfect for picnics, lunch, brunch, and pot lucks as well as dinner.

Ingredients Notes and Substitutions

• Pastry – plain flour (all purpose flour), cold butter and cold water. I have included the ingredients and instructions for making your own shortcrust pastry, but you can use store bought instead to save time.
• Olive oil – using olive oil to fry the courgettes in adds to their flavour.
• Courgettes – also known as zucchini.
• Spring onion – also called green onions, or shallots in certain parts of Australia. These add flavour and cook quickly. You can substitute with half a small red or brown onion if you prefer. Fry it for a couple of minutes before adding the sliced courgettes.
• Cheese – grated cheddar cheese or tasty cheese.
• Dijon mustard – or wholegrain mustard. If you aren’t a fan of mustard don’t worry, you can’t taste it, it just adds a mild background flavour.
• Eggs – size large eggs.
• Milk – as this quiche doesn’t contain cream, use whole milk for the best flavour. If you want a slightly richer custard filling, substitute with the same amount of cream.
• Herbs – I like a mixture of fresh basil and thyme, however feel free to use whatever you have to hand such as parsley, chives, or dill.

How To Make This Courgette Quiche Recipe

1. Make the pastry: Rub the butter into the flour lightly with your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs. (See the first image below for reference).
2. Add the cold water and mix to combine. Form into a disc and wrap in clingfilm then place in the fridge. This resting helps the glutens relax, meaning that the pastry is less likely to shrink when it is cooked.

3. Sauté the courgettes (zucchini): Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan and add the sliced courgette. Cook over a high heat, stirring just a couple of times. Halfway through cooking, add the sliced spring onion and continue to cook until the spring onion is tender and the courgette is golden. Set aside to cool.
4. Line the tin: Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured board then drape it over the quiche tin. Gently press into the edges of the tin using your fingers, patching up any holes or areas where it doesn’t go all the way up the sides of the tin. Cut off the excess pastry using a sharp knife. Using a fork, prick holes over the base of the pastry.

5. Blind bake the pastry: Line the pastry case with a piece of baking paper in and fill with baking beans or rice. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes, then remove the beans and paper.
6. Brush with egg: Using a pastry brush, brush the pastry all over with a little of the beaten egg. Place back in the oven. This thin layer of egg creates a barrier and helps prevent a soggy bottom.

7. Prepare the filling: Whisk the eggs with the milk, seasonings, herbs and grated cheese.
8. Bake: Spread the Dijon mustard in an even layer over the base, then top with the cooled fried courgettes and spring onion, spreading them out into an even layer. Carefully pour oven the egg mixture, place in the oven and bake until golden and the centre of the quiche just wobbles.

FAQ

Storage

• Fridge: You can make the quiche up to 3 days ahead, keep in the fridge and reheat for 15 minutes in a preheated oven at 180˚C/350˚F.
• Freeze: Once cool completely, wrap the quiche and freeze for up to 6 weeks. Defrost before heating in a preheated oven, as above.

My Recipe Tips

• Sautéing the courgettes not only adds flavour, but helps any water evaporate, meaning less chance of a quiche with a soggy bottom.
• Don’t stir the courgettes too much when frying – you want them to become golden as this adds flavour.
• Don’t skip the step of blind baking the pastry, otherwise it will absorb liquid from the filling and become soggy.
• Bake your quiche until the edges are just set, but there’s still a little wobble in the centre.
• Let the quiche stand for 15-20 minutes before serving.
• Sweetcorn – I also like to make this quiche adding 100g / ½ c drained tinned sweetcorn. Add to the quiche with the fried courgette.

What to serve with quiche

• Salad is a delicious accompaniment to quiche. Try this pear and walnut salad, greek salad, carrot feta salad, rocket salad or beetroot feta salad.
• If you are after a more substantial meal – add some parmentier potatoes, duchess potatoes, or a jacket potato on the side.

More vegetarian summer recipes