Once you have eaten homemade quiche, you will never want to buy one from a shop again! It is such a versatile dish: you can eat it warm or cold; for brunch, lunch or dinner; at home or on a picnic. It makes a lovely light summer dish, or comforting winter dish. Serve it with a green salad, on it’s own, or with some bread and butter on the side. So many choices!
Quiche is one of those dishes which can appear complicated to prepare and cook, but it really doesn’t. You can make the pastry ahead of time – or buy some – and then the filling takes 10 minutes to prepare whilst you are blind baking the pastry. Then you just pop the zucchini quiche in the oven, and in half an hour you have a delicious vegetarian brunch, lunch, or dinner!
If I know I’ve got a busy afternoon coming up, I make it in the morning, and then have that comfort that supper is prepared. It is also a great dish for when every family member is eating at different meal times.
Slightly caramelising the zucchini in a little olive oil is one of my favourite ways of cooking zucchini, as it enhances their delicate flavour. Doing so in this recipe adds an extra depth of flavour to the quiche. I have never made quiche with cream, always just milk. Although many people use cream in their quiche I personally don’t see the need for such decadence when you don’t need to have it – I save my cream for ice cream!
Can I make this quiche ahead?
If you are short on time use bought pastry or prepared crust. 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. Or you can freeze the quiche, defrost before heating.
If you want to see more vegetarian meal ideas, why not have a look at my Peach Feta Almond Toast or Pumpkin and Peanut Butter Soup
Zucchini Quiche
Ingredients
- Pastry
- 1 1/4 c/185g plain flour
- 110 g butter cut into cubes
- 1/4 c/ 60ml cold water
- Filling
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 medium zucchinis around 450g sliced into 1 cm slices
- 2 spring onions roughly chopped
- 3 eggs
- 2/3 c/160ml milk
- ½ c/50g cheese grated
- 1/2 c/ 100g corn
- Tbsp fresh basil and thyme a mixture of the two, optional
- Black pepper
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
Instructions
- Make the pastry – in a mixing bowl add the butter to the flour and lightly rub in with your fingers until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the cold water and with a blunt knife, gently bring the pastry together, then finish off with your hands, trying to work the dough as little as possible. You may need to add a drop or two more water if there are still a lot of crumbs of flour. Once the dough is just combined, wrap in clingwrap and place in fridge for at least half an hour (you can make it up to 2 days before you want to cook the quiche, or freeze for up to a month).
- Preheat the oven to 190˚C/370˚F
- Roll out the pastry on a gently floured work surface. Sprinkle the top with flour and roll out the pastry to a 27cm round. Gently roll the pastry so it wraps around the rolling pin then lift this over to your dish. Unroll it over your 23cm/9” pie tin. Trim the edges. If there are any tears in the pastry, dab a little water around the edges of the hole, and then press a pastry scrap into the hole.
- Prick the base lightly with a fork then line it with a large piece of baking paper and fill with some rice or cooking beans. Place in oven for 25 minutes until very light brown.
- Whilst that’s cooking prepare the filling.
- Fry the sliced zucchini and spring onion in the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium to high heat for 3 minutes each side. You want them to have a some colour – this gives them flavour.
- In a bowl, whisk the eggs and the milk together with a fork, then add the grated cheese, herbs and black pepper.
- Once the pastry is cooked, remove from the oven and turn the oven down to 170˚C. Carefully lift the corners of the baking parchment and lift out of your case (taking care as the beans/rice will be very hot).
- Spread the tsp Dijon mustard over the base, then sprinkle over the zucchini and spring onion mixture and the sweetcorn before carefully pouring the egg mixture over.
- Place back in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes until lightly golden and puffed up.
- Leave in the dish for at least 10 minutes to cool. Best served at room temperature.
HAVE YOU MADE THIS RECIPE?
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Carolyn says
Hi, I can’t wait to make this, looks easy and delicious. I have 2 zucchini waiting to be rescued in my frig! The directions say something about “beans & rice” but I don’t see them in the ingredient list. I’m a little confused…
Robyn says
Hi Carolyn, So glad to hear your zucchini will be made into this quiche! 🙂 The beans or rice are only for blind baking the pastry case, to help the pastry cook through properly, and therefore not included in the ingredients list. Let me know how you get on!
Sylvie says
Gotta love a good quiche, such a delicious recipe that can be enjoyed at any time of the day! Love the mix of zucchini and corn too, so yum!
Robyn says
It really is so versatile! I have a new found respect for quiche! 😉
Alexandra @ It's Not Complicated Recipes says
Such a delicious recipe! This would be an ideal dinner with a lovely salad, or perfect for a brunch. I love zucchini 🙂
Robyn says
Thanks Alexandra! I love zucchini too – especially when slightly caramelised 🙂
Sally says
Quiche is so good to have in the fridge for weekday lunches, and I love all the veggies in this one! Sounds delicious 🙂
Robyn says
Thank you Sally!