This recipe is the perfect dish to whip up for a warm brunch, quick lunch or simple dinner. Easy enough to take it away for a family gathering, picnic at the park and any occasion. If you love olives, try adding some pitted olives either whole or sliced. You can serve with a store-bought chutney and stir in a drop of basil or parsley essential oil before serving.
TIP You can make your own crust or use a sheet of pastry. To save time, you can even buy a store-bought pie shell. Be creative and add your favourite vegetables and cheeses.
If you are baking a fresh base, butter or oil the quiche pan then place and press the dough/pastry in to the pan. Finally pinch the dough’s edges creating a border. Before adding the quiche mixture, pre-bake the crust (see instructions) so the bottom crust is not soggy.
NOTE Add your culinary essential oils to add extra flavour to the quiche. The suggested oil is Basil and Black Pepper Essential oil, other favourites include Parsley, Oregano or Thyme. Use the toothpick method for adding the essential oil to taste.
Toothpick Method: Insert a clean toothpick in the oil bottle and then swirl the toothpick in your wet ingredients. This will infuse the mixture with the oil’s flavour and not overpower the taste.
Notes
Photo taken by Holly Kent.
Ingredients
- Base
- 1 sheet pastry dough or pie shell (thawed)
- 1 tbsp butter or coconut oil (for the quiche pan)
- Filling
- 5 eggs
- ¼ cup milk (or alternative)
- 1 drop basil (to taste)
- 1 drop black pepper oil (to taste)
- Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper (to taste)
- 1 tbsp butter or coconut oil
- ¼ cup red capsicum, finely chopped (optional, to taste)
- 1 small zucchini, finely chopped
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 4 shitake mushrooms or other mushrooms, sliced
- 1 cup mild cheddar cheese, grated
- ¾ cup parmesan cheese, grated
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- 2. Pre-bake the pie shell: Cover the pie shell with baking paper and evenly spread pie weights across the baking paper to weigh it down. Place in the oven and bake 15 minutes then place on a cooling rack, remove weights and baking paper and allow to cool.
- 3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk.
- 4. Add salt, pepper, basil essential oil and black pepper essential oil. Whisk to combine.
- 5. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini, onions and mushrooms. Cook 3-4 minutes or until vegetables are softened, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- 6. Place pre-baked pie shell on a baking tray with sides and evenly spread half of the cheddar cheese and half of the parmesan cheese across bottom of pie shell. Then spread the vegetable mixture in an even layer over cheese.
- 7. Gently pour egg mixture evenly over the vegetables. The filling should go up almost to the very top of the crust, but not onto the edges. If you have a little too much filling reserve the remaining to make scrambled eggs the next day. Then sprinkle remaining cheddar cheese and Parmesan cheese over egg the mixture.
- 8. Place the quiche, still on the tray in the oven and bake for approx. 50 minutes or until center of quiche is just set. Check the quiche after 35 minutes, if the crust edges are getting too brown before the center of quiche is set cover the edges with a pie crust shield or a ring of baking paper for the remaining cook time.
- 9. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a few minutes before cutting and serving.
- 10. Serving option: Top with freshly chopped herbs and sprinkle with a little Parmesan cheese. Serve with a side salad or chutney in a little bowl (homemade or store bought).
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