22nd
Kale and Fried Shallot Quiche with Goat Cheese
What to do when life hands you two cartons of fresh Green Gate Farms eggs and you proceed to drop them both on your tiled kitchen floor? Salvage what you can and make quiche! While cursing a lot.
Luckily, not all my eggs were broken—only nine of the 24 were damaged. I was able to save six that had cracked, and used five of the yolks and most of the whites for this quiche. As a result, it was a very rich custard. I threw in some roasted red and Anaheim peppers, but in retrospect what they added in color and flavor they took away in wateriness that sogged up the filling. A seeded, chopped red chile pepper thrown in with the shallots would have been better, so that’s what I’ll recommend. I happen to like some heat with my greens—this could also be omitted.
The beautiful Tuscan kale from this week’s share is the main event—make sure to cook it thoroughly or it’ll be super tough to cut through your quiche slices, let alone bite into them. You all know the trick for removing any tough stems from kale and other greens, right? Place the leaf stem—fibrous side up—with the stem farthest from you. Place your non-dominant hand palm down on the leaf with the stem between your index and middle fingers. With your other hand, grab the stem and pull it toward you, ripping it away from the tender part of the leaf, while holding down the leaf with your other hand. This is a very satisfying thing.
Shallots are this quiche’s secret weapon. You only need two or three (although an all-shallot quiche doesn’t sound entirely bad to me) so it’s not too much of a pain to peel them.
I know this is supposed to be about the vegetables, but the crust here was a real selling point—eating it makes me want to give up on sad, crustless frittatas forever. I know I have ragged on Mollie Katzen a bit, but her all-butter crust recipe is unstoppable. It does tend to slump a LOT because of its high fat content, which makes for a demoralizing pastry experience. Rather than blind baking as usual, as I did here to mixed results, I recommend forming the crust over the outside of a pan and baking it upside down. I have done this with some success in the past, but forgot this time. You could also bake right-side-up with another pie pan laid inside, on top of the crust, but I cannot warranty this method.
Filling
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 large or 3 medium shallots, peeled and sliced thinly
- 1 small red chile pepper, seeded and chopped (optional)
- 1 bunch Tuscan kale, chopped coarsely and rinsed (with some water still clinging)
- large pinch red pepper flakes (omit if using the chile pepper!)
- 4 eggs (plus one to two extra yolks if you’re feeling some extra richness or happen to have dropped $10 worth of eggs on the floor)
- 1.75-2 cups milk (more yolks = more milk) or half & half or cream if you’re inclined
- 1/4 tsp. salt and black or white pepper to taste
- 4 oz. soft goat cheese
How to:
First, make your crust as directed below and blind bake using the method of your choice for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. You can leave the oven on.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the shallots and red chile pepper, if using, until the shallots are nicely browned. (I like mine pretty well done, but this is a matter of taste.) Add the kale, stir for a moment to mix with the other ingredients, then reduce heat to medium and cover until the kale is wilted. Stir, uncovered, until kale is tender. If using red pepper flakes, add these now.
While the kale is cooking, beat the eggs, milk, salt and pepper with a whisk. With a fork, mash the goat cheese into the egg-milk mixture.
Spoon the vegetables into the pre-baked crust in an even layer. Pour the egg mixture over the filling. Bake for 45 minutes or until set (make sure it’s not jiggling in the center). Cool for 10 minutes before slicing.
Crust
Ingredients:
- 1-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter
- Up to 3 tablespoons cold water, milk, or buttermilk
How to:
Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Cut the butter into slices, add to the processor, and buzz several times, until the mixture is uniform and resembles coarse meal. (If you don’t have a food processor, use a pastry cutter or 2 forks instead.)
Continue to process in quick spurts as you add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time. As soon as the dough adheres to itself when pinched, stop adding water and turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Gather it gently into a ball.
Roll the dough into a circle 11 inches or so in diameter (slightly bigger than a I 0-inch round). Lift the dough and ease it into a 9-inch pie pan, nudging it gently into the corners. Form a generous, even edge all the way around the sides. If you’re not going to use the crust right away, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze it until use.
Crust recipe from Mollie Katzen’s Sunlight Café by Mollie Katzen.
