Crustless Quiche – A Custard Story
I am a real man and I eat quiche. To make it even worse, I am an eater of crustless quiche. Yes, a quiche with no crust, no backbone or foundation. This seems even less masculine than regular quiche, but I don’t care. A crustless quiche ensures that there is no interference from anything else. It is a rich custard and tasty mix-ins delivered directly to the mouth. A fine buttery crust is not all bad, but a crustless quiche makes the story about what a quiche story should be – a rich, delicious custard. Don’t be fooled or misled. Quiche, crustless or not, is not egg pie. It is not scrambled egg pie. It is not a frittata. Quiche is a baked custard.
Crustless Quiche – The Custard
Since it is a custard story we are writing, it makes sense that we should focus on this critical piece of the pie, as it were. A custard is nothing more than a mixture of eggs and dairy, usually milk or cream, that is heated until thickened to a creamy delicious state. The ratio of eggs to dairy varies across the universe, but it is best to keep it simple at first and then experiment to make the best custard you like. Three eggs plus 1.5 cups of dairy is a good starting point. You can scale this up easily depending on how many crustless quiches you are making. This ratio is a good start for a 9 inch pie pan. With a decent amount of fillings, the pan should be full almost to the rim.
Crustless Quiche – Other Dairy
We should not limit the dairy discussion to milk. Sour cream or creme fraiche would work, too depending on the fillings. They need to be fillings that would pair nicely with a little tang that these ingredients would bring. The cheese in a quiche is not really part of the custard. The cheese, with a dash of salt and pepper, can be added to the custard mix before putting it in the pan or it can be added separately to the pan.
Crustless Quiche – Go Vegan?
It is worth mentioning that since the thickening of the custard comes from the eggs, any non-dairy substitute would work – almond milk, rice milk, oat milk, etc. These are great opportunities to bring different flavors into the mix. A vegan quiche can be achieved without eggs. In this case, corn starch or flour would need to be cooked (on the stove or in the oven) with the liquid. Essentially, it would be a pudding that would be made instead of a custard. This would set up fine and be equally nice. A ratio to start with here would be ⅓ cup of starch plus 2 cups liquid. Consider adding silken or firm tofu for texture and protein.
Crustless Quiche – The Fillings
When it comes to quiche, there is an endless list of ingredients that do well tucked into a rich custard. A bacon, broccoli, swiss combo is always nice, as is a quiche lorraine (bacon-gruyere), but we should challenge ourselves. An Asian influenced quiche or Cuban inspired quiche is there for the making. Think outside the crust and you will be rewarded!
The video below shows you all the steps to making a crustless quiche including THE WIGGLE. When baking a quiche, don’t bake it until it is fully set and stiff! That is scrambled egg pie. Bake it until there is still a little wiggle in the center. The full recipe follows.
- 1/2 lb of unsliced bacon - or purchased already cut in cubes (called lardon)
- 1/2 lb fresh broccoli (frozen could work, too)
- 6 oz Swiss cheese
- 3 eggs
- 1/4 cup milk cream
- 1¼ cups of skim milk
- salt and pepper
- Pre-heat the oven to 350F
- Cut the bacon into elongated cubes. In a medium pan over medium heat, cook the bacon until the fat is rendered and the cubes are golden brown and crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan and drain on paper towel.
- Set up a bowl full of ice water and bring a medium pan of salt water to a simmer.
- If using fresh broccoli, cut it into bite size pieces. Simmer the broccoli in the pot of salted water for about 5 minutes until just tender with a little crispness still present. Remove the broccoli from the water and plunge it in the ice water bath to stop the cooking.
- Grate the Swiss cheese.
- In a medium bowl, mix the eggs, cream and milk with a whisk. Season with salt and pepper. Add the cheese.
- Spray a 9 inch pie pan with non-stick spray. Add the bacon and the broccoli to the pan. Pour the custard mix on top. Sprinkle the top with extra cheese if desired.
- Bake the quiche for 35-40 minutes until it is set but still wiggles just a little. This indicates that the custard is set but it has not turned into scrambled eggs.
- Serve hot or cold with a salad and bread.
Keep Eating! Keep Innovating!
What fillings do you put in your crustless quiche? Let us know in the comments or on Facebook.
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