How to Make Vegetable Quiche

We’re going to be making a beautiful vegetable quiche with Swiss chard from the garden. First, let’s rewind to earlier in the day when the pâte brisée—the crust used for quiche or any savory pastry—was made.

Pâte Brisée (Savory Pastry Crust)

The juice of a lemon is needed for this recipe, but before juicing, zest it. Lemon zest is optional; it can be added to the pastry crust or saved for later for an aromatic kick. For now, save it and juice the lemon.

Cut the lemon in half and use a wooden juicer to extract the juice.

Ingredients

• 1 whole egg
• 1 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
• 9 tablespoons cold or frozen butter
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• Lemon juice & zest (from above)

Method

Place the egg in a large bowl. Add the flour, butter, and salt. Toss the butter with the flour so it doesn’t clump. Drizzle in the lemon-juice egg mixture, add the lemon zest, and work everything together. This dough contains more moisture than a sweet pastry crust because pâte brisée needs to be stronger to hold a savory filling. Knead lightly in the bowl to break up butter clumps. Transfer to plastic wrap, roll and press into a disk, then chill until firm.

Vegetable Filling

Harvest fresh organic Italian flat-leaf parsley and Swiss chard.

Caramelize the Onion

Start caramelizing an onion first; it blends better with cheese and vegetables. Use butter, keep the heat low, and stir often.

Prepare the Vegetables

• Swiss chard: rough chop
• Shallots: mild flavor between onion and garlic; rough chop
• Mushrooms: thinly slice
• Marinated artichoke hearts: rough chop
• Fresh thyme leaves: about 2 tablespoons
• Fresh parsley: chop
• Zucchini: slice

Cheese Mixture

To the partially caramelized onions add:

• ⅓ cup freshly grated Parmesan
• ½ cup grated Gouda
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Cook the mixture down, then transfer to a bowl.

Sauté Vegetables

In the same pan, add a drop of butter and sauté the Swiss chard, zucchini, and mushrooms with a pinch of salt and white pepper. Cover to wilt, stirring so nothing burns. The vegetables will reduce and concentrate in flavor.

Custard

• 6 eggs
• ½ cup heavy cream
• Remaining Parmesan
• Remaining Gouda
• Chopped parsley
• Thyme

Whisk together.

Assemble the Quiche

Lightly flour the surface and roll out the chilled dough. Prick the base and sides with a fork to prevent puffing. Fold and fit into the buttered pan. Chill the crust again while finishing the vegetables.

Stir 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar into the vegetables. Add three-quarters of a cup (about 6) chopped marinated artichoke hearts and the caramelized onion–cheese mixture. Combine everything to cool slightly so it won’t cook the eggs prematurely.

Pour the vegetable mixture into the custard and stir to distribute cheese and vegetables evenly. Transfer the filling into the chilled crust.

Bake

Bake at 375 °F for 20 minutes, then reduce to 350 °F and bake another 40 minutes. Tent the edges with foil to prevent over-browning. Remove the foil near the end if desired for a golden crust.

The finished quiche will be golden and fragrant. Enjoy!