Crustless Quiche: Or Fast Food that’s good for you

I really like a good crust, but that’s the problem. Most of the time what surrounds the quiche is not good. I love the cheesy custard and I find myself eating the delicious inside and leaving the crust sitting naked in the middle of my plate.

I consider quiche to be the perfect lunch food. That’s why I wanted to find a way to make it so that it would stay intact when it came out of the pan, so I could slice it into squares that were ready to eat when I was. That is important because I often eat and run and sometimes I even have to eat on the run, so I need to be able to grab a good lunch without any fuss.

I found the solution was to line the pan with parchment paper large enough to overhang on all sides, giving me handles to pull the quiche out of the pan when it’s ready. It worked perfectly, and I had these great quiche squares ready to eat when I was.

I used a rectangular cake pan lined with 2 pieces of parchment paper. One-piece was cut to go the length of the pan including the ends (not the sides) plus I added 2 inches for the overhang on each side. The other piece was cut exactly the same way, but it was cut to go the width of the pan.

Make sure to butter your pan well before placing the wide piece of parchment into the pan. Press it down to make certain it has adhered to the pan. You now need to butter the paper that covers the bottom of the pan and add the long piece of parchment to finish coating the pan, making sure it is also secure.

Follow the recipe below to make the filling and pour it directly into the lined pan, then bake until it has set. Let it cool 10 – 15 minutes before lifting it out of the pan by the paper overhangs on the wide side of the pan. Place it on a prepared cookie sheet and slice it into squares. It’s great served with a green salad or you can store it in a container for when you need delicious fast food.

Note – When Mark came home and asked his usual “what’s for dinner?”, I said “grilled red snapper” but added, as I noticed he was looking around the kitchen with a puzzled expression, “unless you want quiche?” His response was “quiche of course, it’s everywhere!” I’d made two pans to check my proportions. Quiche and salad are also great for dinner!

Quiche au Jambon basic recipe for a 9” pan lined with parchment as described above Pre-heat oven 375º Makes 6 slices

1/2 pound diced ham 1/4 pound or one cup Swiss cheese 4 eggs 3/4 cup half and half 1/2 cup whole milk* (use half and half if you do not have whole milk) 1/2 teaspoon salt Fresh pepper A dash of nutmeg

• Mix the cream, eggs, salt and pepper together until well blended. • Mix the ham and cheese together and place in the bottom of the pan. • Add the cream and egg mixture to the pan and make certain all the cheese and ham are evenly distributed in the pan • Place the pan into the middle of the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the quiche is golden brown and has set in the middle when a wood skewer comes out clean. • Serve warm or at room temperature.

Quiche au Jambon for a 9” x 13” cake pan lined with parchment as described above Makes 12 squares Pre-heat oven 400º

2 cups of diced ham 2 cups of Swiss cheese 8 eggs 3 1/2 cups half and half 1 1/2s cup whole milk* (use half and half if you do not have whole milk) 1 teaspoon salt Fresh pepper A dash of nutmeg

• Combine all ingredients as above and cook for 1 hour or until the center is firm.

Quiche can be served warm or at room temperature. Store it in a container in the refrigerator for a week or freeze it for two months.

To re-heat frozen quiche, do not thaw. Instead place unwrapped in a preheated 400º oven until it is heated through.

* Only use whole milk, as skim and low fat milk have too high a water content. Your quiche will have excess water separate as it is cooling. It is still edible, but does not look very appetizing.