This delicious quiche is made with a homemade pie crust with a ham, spinach, red pepper, and cheese filling. It is ideal for a Sunday brunch, weekday breakfast or a light lunch.
There are so many variations of quiche recipes and I have made them in many ways. Regardless how you make them, they are make a perfect breakfast, lunch or dinner meal with a salad. It’s a recipe you can eat any time of the day.
I have fond memories of making quiches with my students. Boy, did we get praises for our quiches. We would sell many in one week, and made a variety including vegetarian, ones with bacon or ham, and changed up our veggies, and cheese selections. The pastry dough we used is one I have made for years, and it’s buttery, light and so flaky. I have to say this pastry dough is the best I have made and you can find it on my blog at: https://www.thehungarysoul.com/perfect-pastry-dough/
WHEN MAKING THIS RECIPE
PASTRY DOUGH: when making the pastry dough, I would suggest a few things. Use COLD butter, sometimes I have placed it in my freeze for 10 minutes before adding it to the flour mixture. Once the butter is added and whether you grate it or use a pastry blender or two fork to break down the butter, and start adding the cold water, slowly bring the dough together and once is comes together, transfer to the counter then using your hands, form a large ball and start creating four discs. It’s important to not overmix the dough, as it will become tough. Allow to rest in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes for the gluten to relax.
When making a quiche you will need to pre-bake the pastry dough for 15 minutes. I have added weights and beans to avoid the crust from bubbling and I have also just pricked holes on the bottom of the crust and I didn’t have any issues. If it does bubble, it will drop once it is taken out of the oven.
HEAVY CREAM VS HALF AND HALF VS MILK: I have used all of dairy products, it depends what I have on hand. If you are using milk, I would recommend whole milk and add 1 tablespoon of flour to the egg and milk mixture, and this will help with the binding of the egg mixture.
VEGETABLES: When selecting the choice of vegetables to add to your quiche. Consider the vegetables you like best and if you will need to sauté them before adding it to the quiche. For example, some onions should be slightly cooked before adding to a quiche, and they would be a cooking onion, red onion and leeks. I added shallots which have a mild onion flavour. Since spinach contains a lot of water, that needs to be steamed or sautéed before adding to the quiche. Other vegetables that will need to be sautéed before adding to the quiche are asparagus, zucchini, mushrooms and any other ones that contain a lot of water.
CHEESE: there isn’t any rules here when it comes to adding cheese to a quiche, well, at least that’s my opinion. I have added a sharp cheddar that is 3-5 years old, a marble cheese and feta cheese. But you can add a variety of your choice, from a gouda, swiss, goat cheese, gruyere, provolone, mozzarella so really the options are endless.
WHEN MAKING THIS RECIPE
What I like to do when I make my quiche is add the egg and cream mixture into the pre-baked pie crust and then add the vegetables, ham and cheese. Why? I like to arrange the toppings in a certain way so when it bakes it will look attractive.
FAQ
Can I buy a ready-made pie crust for this recipe? Yes, you can! You will still need to pre-bake it for 15 minutes before adding the filling.
Do I have to cook the bacon before adding it the quiche? How many slices would I add? Yes the bacon requires it to be cooked and then cut them in pieces before adding it to the filling. I would add 3-5 slices, depending on the size of the bacon slices. If they are large then 3 should be enough, although should consider how much bacon flavour you want. If you are really going for a bold smoky bacon flavour then add 4-5 slices.
Ham, Spinach and Cheddar Quiche
Equipment
- 9 inch pie plate
Ingredients
- Prepare ‘perfect pastry’ recipe (recipe on my blog)
- 5 free-range large eggs
- 1 cup heavy cream (or half or half cream)
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 1 cup smoked ham, cut in cubes
- 1/4 red pepper, finely chopped
- 1 cup spinach, roughly chopped and steamed
- 8 oz white cheddar cheese, grated
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350°F.
- Roll out pastry dough and place into a 9 inch pie plate and create a decorative edge around the pie plate. Using a fork, prick holes on the bottom of the crust. This will help the pie crust from bubbling up and if it does, don't worry, it will relax once you take it out of the oven. Bake for 15 minutes.
- In a large bowl, beat eggs, cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper with a wire whisk. Then pour into the pre-baked pie crust.
- Scatter shallots, ham, red pepper, spinach, and grated cheese into the pie crust.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 15-20 minutes and then serve.
Nutrition
A DELICIOUS RECIPE THAT WILL PLEASE A CROWD
This flaky butter crust with a variety of vegetables and ham in a rich creamy center with a pungent cheese flavour will be a winner at any gathering. Serve with a salad and you have a delicious meal!
