Quite the Quiche !

I just finished telling you in my last post about how I have to have some type of protein in my meals to feel satisfied and here I am following up with another meatless dish.  I love quiche, and so does my husband (don't tell anyone, I think that does something to your manly status).  I have made tons of quiches in the past.  Most of them were packed with meat and Forrest admitted to being partial to those, but he said the caramelized onions in this dish were the star.  I served this for dinner, one big slice along side a piece of grilled andouille.  The presence of the zucchini made this seem like more of a lunch/dinner meal rather than breakfast, but I don't see why it couldn't be served at any time of day.  There are two tips for making this recipe much easier than it seems: caramelize your onions the day before you plan to make the quiche, and use a mandoline to get perfectly uniform and extra thin zucchini slices (I just use a cheap handheld one, nothing fancy).

Zucchini and Caramelized Onion Quiche

Adapted from Cooking Light August 2012

 

 Ingredients

• 1/2 (14.1-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough (such as Pillsbury)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 cups (1/8-inch-thick) slices zucchini
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 cup finely chopped Basic Caramelized Onions
• 1 cup 1% low-fat milk
• 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper/cayenne 
• 3 large eggs
• 2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup)

 

Preparation

1. Caramelize Onions.  Vertically Slice 3 large onions and saute in a pan with 1Tbs of olive oil, 1/2 Tbs of butter and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

Cook for 1 hour on low heat until the onions are dark brown and caramelized; stirring frequently.



I did this the night before to cut down on the preparation time for the quiche.  3 large onions will cook down to amount to about 1/2 cup of caramelized onions.

2. Preheat oven to 425°.

3. Roll dough into a 12-inch circle. Fit dough into a 10-inch deep-dish pie plate. Fold edges under; flute (as you can tell from my pictures, I am not a good "fluter" - in fact, I am a terrible "fluter"!).



Line dough with foil; arrange pie weights or dried beans on foil.



Bake at 425° for 12 minutes or until edges are golden. Remove weights and foil; bake an additional 2 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

4. Reduce oven temperature to 375°.

5. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl. Add zucchini and garlic; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Sauté 5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Cool slightly.



6. Arrange Basic Caramelized Onions over bottom of crust;



top with zucchini mixture.



Combine remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, milk, flour, pepper (black and red), eggs, and cheese in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk.



Pour milk mixture over zucchini mixture.



 Bake at 375° for 35 minutes or until set. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.



Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe