2010-02-26

Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Quiche


mmmm quiche.

This was inspired by a flip through Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything, which includes a caramelized onion variation in the quiche section.


lots o' onion

You will need:
  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 4 cups (about 4 smallish) onions, thinly sliced
  • .5-1 tsp fresh or dried thyme
  • 1 standard 8" pie crust (I used a prefab)
  • 5 eggs
  • 1 cup milk (I used whole, cream or reduced fat also works)
  • a few ounces goat cheese
  • nutmeg
  • cayenne pepper (optional)
  • salt & pepper to taste

fully cooked
  1. heat butter in heavy pan until melted, add onions and saute slowly over medium to low heat until caramelized. this step may take up to 1/2 and hour. with my super-crappy electric stove I had to turn the heat between low and medium often, making sure the onions were still cooking, but not browning too fast and getting crunchy, when almost done stir in the thyme. The onion should reduce to about 1.5 cups total
  2. meanwhile par-bake the pie crust at 375 for 5-10 minutes, until golden-brown, then reduce oven to 325
  3. in large bowl gently beat together eggs, milk, a pinch fresh grated nutmeg and cayenne pepper. add salt & pepper to your preference
  4. gently spread some of the onions over the crust, pour in egg mixture, and distribute remaining onions evenly. crumble goat cheese over the top.
  5. bake at 325 until quiche is set, somewhere around 30 minutes. if it still looks loose bake longer, checking after each additional 5-7 minutes
  6. you can broil it for a minute or two at the end to give the top a nice golden top

dinner, with a guest appearance by spicy carrot-cauliflower soup

Notes:

With the pre-made crust this is a really low-attention hands-off meal I'd even made on a work night.

I didn't add any salt originally, and the eggs definitely needed it to help them stand up to the sweet onion.

The goat cheese kind melded in too well, next time I'd use more.

6 comments:

Michele said...

I substituted 3/4 cup of unsweetened soy milk and a scoop of greek yogurt for the milk. I left out the nutmeg and cayenne. I poured it in a whole wheat pastry crust I made. I served it with some sauteed swiss chard with shallots, and lentil soup. My family loved it. A healthier version of typical quiche which is usually made with cheddar and half and half.

aeMalkin said...

That sounds great. I really like the idea of substituting in Greek yogurt; I think it'd balance out the sweetness of caramelized onions well- and healthier than adding more goat cheese :)

Madame Fromage said...

This looks delish. I assume you just used a soft goat cheese? I love the idea of putting in some chard, too. Lovely blog -- the header is so surprising when it pops up!

aeMalkin said...

Thanks for the comment; I love your blog!

Yep, made with standard chevre.

This seems to be my most popular recipe I'm going to need to remake it with the great suggestions, once it's not 100 degrees in my kitchen...

If you happen to see this I have a goat-cheese question: I ended up buying some Ekte Geitost on a whim the other day, do you have any serving suggestions?

Wayfair home said...

You know, I was just saying that the recipe needed a handful of some green vegetables and then I saw that you had served it with broccoli. That should be really good at any time of the day.

Marie said...

Their team is talented,additional hints creative, and hard-working.