Cheesy Zucchini Quiche

On Jakk’s blog he states: Like many people just diagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis, the IC diet seemed very daunting and being a vegetarian made it even harder. I was quite scared to eat any food as my bladder was at its most upset and I felt the effects of trigger foods either very shortly after eating them or the very next day. Not wanting to incur the wrath of my bladder, I tried not to experiment with cooking and only followed recipes that I found online that were either IC specific or had little to no problem ingredients. This recipe for Cheesy Zucchini Quiche, which fell into the later list if only because of the onions (which I do not think that I am sensitive to), was one of those first recipes that I had tried and it was so good that it spurred a small period where I was obsessed with trying different Quiches. I always seemed to have pie dough ready to defrost in the freezer and there were even a couple of times that I put all of the ingredients together for this quiche over the weekend and froze it for use later in the week! Both Andrew and myself absolutely loved this recipe! (In fact, as I am sitting here typing this, I am becoming more and more tempted to get up and run to the store for some zucchini!).

Before I leave you with the recipe, I do want to give you a couple of tips. First off, pre-made pie dough from the grocery store will seem very tempting for this recipe. If you do go this route, don't forget to first check the ingredients to make sure there are no problem ingredients; I'm sure store-made dough must have some preservatives that may bother your bladder. For that reason, I use a homemade 3-2-1 pie crust that I found and it is included below as part of the recipe. Secondly, this recipe is much easier to make if you have a mandolin; it makes it easier to finely slice the veggies. If you don't have a mandolin, try to cut as thin as you can. Also, I have found that once cooked, the zucchini and onion create a lot of liquid. Each time I have made this quiche I have forgotten about that and my end product becomes extra liquidy (even though draining the liquid is in the recipe). I imagine that if you were to follow the recipe the right way and you drain some of the liquid from the vegetables before adding the rest of the ingredients, it would prevent this from happening and your end result will be much more quiche-like. And lastly, if you are sensitive to onions, remember that you can either leave them out or substitute with either chives or scallions. Anyway, enjoy and happy cooking! From theicveggie.blogspot.com.

Cheesy Zucchini Quiche


Ingredients:

Pie Crust
1 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 stick (8 Tbsp) cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
4-5 Tbsp ice water

Filling
3 Tbsp butter
4 cups thinly sliced zucchini (about 3 medium)
1 large onion, thinly sliced (if tolerated or substitute with chives or scallions or leave out)
2 large eggs
2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp black pepper (if tolerated)
2 cups part skim shredded Mozzarella


Directions:

Pie Crust
Combine the flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl and stir briefly until the mixture is aerated. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it’s in pea-size pieces that are slightly yellow in color, about 4 to 5 minutes. Drizzle in 4 tablespoons of the ice water and mix just until the dough comes together. (Add the last tablespoon of ice water if necessary, but don’t overwork the dough or it’ll become tough). Shape the dough into a flat disk, cover it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, then use it in the pie or tart recipe of your choice.

Filling
Preheat your oven to 400°. On a lightly floured surface, roll pie crust into a 1/8-in.-thick circle before transferring to a 9-inch pie plate. Trim the crust to 1/2 inch beyond the rim of the plate and flute the edge. Refrigerate the crust while preparing the filling.

In a large skillet, heat the butter over medium heat until melted and beginning to bubble. Add the zucchini and the onion; cook, stirring frequently, until both are tender - the onion will become translucent and the zucchini will change color slightly. Drain the liquid off as best as you can and let the mixture cool for a bit. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and seasonings until they are well blended. Stir in the cheese and then mix it with the cooked zucchini and onion. Once everything is well mixed, add the completed filling to the prepared crust. Bake on a lower oven rack for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean and the crust is golden brown. Cover the edge of the quiche loosely with foil during the last 15 minutes of cooking, only if needed to prevent over-browning. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

This recipe will make 8 servings.