I’ve made quiches with at least three different pie crust bases (Zsuzsa’s pie crust, Allison’s Vinegar pie crust and Ann’s No-fail pie crust, which I used here and posted below). I’ve even made a crustless version. But whatever the base, and whatever the filling you are using, quiche is a tasty, relatively inexpensive dish to make ahead, freeze and serve at your convenience. Or, pre-bake a few pie shells and freeze them away for when inspiration strikes.
ETA: I was sure I had made a salmon quiche but I couldn’t find the post. Guess that’s something I should remedy soon.
The quiche below is a simple version with leftover ham (and crispy bacon) from yesterday’s ham and potato soup, broccoli florettes and Canadian Swiss cheese. At $12.99 a pound, it’s cheaper than its imported cousin, Gruyere ($21.99 per pound), but nowhere near the sale price of cheddar ($4.99 a pound). Use whatever you like or what your budget allows for. I didn’t have any mushrooms in the house so I just increased the amount of broccoli I used a bit.
Basic Ham, Mushroom and Broccoli Quiche – fills a 9 inch pre-baked pie shell
3 large eggs
1 cup milk
1 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup cheese, grated (cheddar & monterey jack mix; swiss cheese; gruyere)
1 cup broccoli (cut into florets and pre-cooked)
4 oz cubed ham (or 5-6 strips cooked diced bacon)
1/2 cup sliced white mushrooms
dash tabasco (optional)
salt (~ 1 tsp) and pepper (~ 1/2 tsp) to taste
1 9-inch Pre-baked pie shell
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place the baking dish with the pre-baked shell on a baking sheet, in case of overflow.
Mise en place for quiche
In a large bowl, whisk (or beat with a fork) together the eggs. Stir in the flour, mixing well, and then add the milk and nutmeg. Add salt and pepper to taste remembering that the ham, bacon and cheese already have some salt in them. Add as much tabasco or hot sauce as desired.
Pre-baked quiche shell
Layer the cooked broccoli, mushrooms and ham into the pre-baked pie shell.
Sprinkle about 3/4 cup of the cheese over the vegetables and meat.
Pour the milk and egg mixture carefully over the ingredients. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.
Bake at 350 deg F for 45-50 min. Let stand another 10 min before cutting.
Ann’s No-fail Pie Crust – enough for a 8-9 inch top and bottom or 2 bottoms
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup shortening or unsalted butter (or half of each)
1/4 cup sour cream
1 egg
water as needed (~1/4 cup)
Sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender.
In a 2 cup measuring cup beat together the egg and sour cream and add enough cold water to make a total of 3/4 cup liquid. Stir the liquid into the dough using a fork. If a hand full of dough holds together when squeezed, the dough is wet enough, otherwise, fork in an additional tablespoon of water and try again. Repeat.
Wrap in saran wrap and refrigerate until needed or roll to 1/4″ thickness.
I was a bit hasty in throwing together the dough for the pie plate … I should probably have re-rolled it. 🙂
For an empty shell, bake 12-15 min in a 400 deg F oven. For a filled shell, bake 15 min at 400 F, then reduce temperature to 350 deg F and bake an additional 25-30 min or until the contents are set.
If the edges get too brown, cover them with a strip of aluminum foil.
Remove the baked pie from the oven to a cooling rack and let cool for about 3 hrs before serving.
Cooking is Fun ... Really!! 
I was just thinking of making quiche for dinner tonight. I do love how you’ve made your own pastry! I’m skipping that step and using filo as I’m pushed for time but when I do have a less busy day, I much prefer homemade pastry. That’s a beautiful quiche! xx
Thank you. When I used to have more energy/time, I’d make a double batch of the pastry and then make 4 pastry bottoms and freeze them … prebaked or unbaked depending on how I was feeling.
What a gorgeous quiche, I just love the flavours. Our Costco sells authentic Swiss Gruyère for $8 or $9 /lb I think. It’s excellent value.
Thank you. I may pick up some real gruyere the next time I go there to pick up my blood pressure meds though I usually stay away from the back cause of the huge tempting trays of meats, fish, seafood, etc.
Beautiful quiche! I wonder which Swiss cheese was the model for Canadian Swiss cheese 😉 What does it look like? Given the distance, the gruyère price is not that shocking, but of course I imagine not cheap given the lower Canadian food prices… I hope it’s genuine… I still recall the shocking French cheese prices in Japan! (I don’t remember checking any Swiss cheese though, but I suspect it was similar).
Thank you. I think the Canadian Swiss cheese was copied from Gruyere but I’m not sure. There’s a picture of it on the plate next to the steamed broccoli in the mise en place shot. The holes aren’t very big but then I just got a small rectangle.
Gruyère NEVER has any holes 😉 Ever. (I know it’s a world-spread belief, but you will never see gruyère with a single hole…). If the “imported” stuff has holes, don’t buy it. It’s not gruyère.
Shows how much I know. I can’t remember what the Gruyere I last bought looked like. Nor did I take note of the imported stuff on my last trip to the market. I just asked the price. And then I bought the generic Canadian ‘Swiss’ cheese. 🙂
It’s not you! I keep on telling it to all my friends who live outside of Switzerland 🙂 I don’t know why but even in France some people think gruyère has holes and it’s a neighbouring country which sells original gruyère… Gruyère has a thick, very tight and hard texture. Emmentaler has huge holes and is slightly softer (though it falls into the category of hard cheese), so maybe the Canadian cheese is closer to this one… Anyway, if you ever see holes in something called gruyère, it’s fake, whatever the price.
Thank you for the additional info. It makes me feel a bit better. 🙂