 "Photo: Kimi Killen '10")
When I was younger (I use this term loosely—think about 18 or so), I was an extraordinarily picky child. I didn’t like tomatoes, asparagus, mushrooms or most other vegetables. If you gave me curry, I would have wrinkled my nose at you and passed. Give me a salad with fruit and nuts nestled side by side? Thank you, but no thank you.
Quiche was another one of these foods. My mother makes great quiche, but I just never realized it because “I don’t like eggs.” The “I don’t like…” statement was an unqualified favorite of mine. Most of the food “I don’t like,” I never had. Usually, some preconceived notion in my brain told me that it wouldn’t be good if I didn’t like the look or the smell of it—or I was just acting supremely stubborn.
Once I became the one doing the cooking, everything suddenly tasted exponentially more delicious. I came to like a great many more foods and grew quite adventurous in the kitchen. That’s how I learned to love quiche.
Quiche is not a food that I would, by any means, include under the label “exotic” or “unusual.” Rather, it is just delicious and comforting with layers of egg and cheese, studded with onions and encased by a flaky, buttery crust.
This weekend I made quiche to celebrate my friend’s 22nd birthday. It was strange meal when accompanied by my famous guacamole and a bag of chips. To try and tie the two dishes together, I made a quiche with green and red peppers, red onion, ham and lots of pepper. It was pretty much a southwestern omelette with a crust. However, it wasn’t too much of a stretch for a meal plan. We have had stranger. Read: guacamole, chocolate chip pancakes and beer. If that doesn’t whet an appetite, I don’t know if anything can.
When you are making quiche, you have two options. You can either go to a grocery store and buy a premade crust or, if you are obsessive like I am, you can make your own. Either way, it will be delicious.
One more tip: when you are checking on your quiche and the top is puffing up, don’t panic. It is not going to explode. Quiches, like great powers, rise and fall. When you remove it from the oven to let it cool, it will sink back to that classic quiche flatness.
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Green Pepper and Ham Quiche CRUST: FILLING: Crust: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and the salt. Make a well in the center and add butter. Using only the tips of your finger, work the butter into the flour until the mixture is coarse with pea-sized bits of butter (you may need to take a break halfway through doing this to wash your fingertips in cold water – keeping the tips of your fingers cold is key to keeping the butter from glomming onto everything). Add egg and mix with a fork until a dough forms. Add a teaspoon of water at a time if dough is too dry. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a 12-inch circle. Place the dough in a lightly buttered 9-inch pie dish. Press down to remove air bubbles. Fold the extra edges over and prick lightly with a fork. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Pour the filling in the crust and bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden and puffed. Let cool for 15-20 minutes before serving. Filling: Whisk the heavy cream and eggs together. Add the salt, pepper, cheese, ham, peppers and onion, and mix well. Pour into crust and bake.
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