Glorious Quiche
In Wednesday’s column in the Journal, I talk about the amazing roasted tomatoes that Kathleen Flinn uses in her onion and tomato quiche. But the whole quiche is really delicious, too. She coaxes sweet, concentrated flavors from both vegetables using different methods: caramelizing the onions in a saute pan, and slowly roasted pieces of tomato in the oven.
The quiche recipe is one of about 30 in Flinn’s book, The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry (Viking Penguin Group).
Here’s Flinn’s quiche recipe. She also has a few more recipes posted on her Web site, http://www.kathleenflinn.com.
Quiche aux Oignons D’or et aux Tomates Rôties
(Golden Onion and Roasted Tomato Quiche)
Quiche is like pizza — it can be made with almost anything. This version uses onions and tomatoes, but try asparagus, ham, artichokes, whatever. The onions will seem like an insurmountable pile, but they reduce drastically. If good tomatoes aren’t available or time is short, use soft sun-dried tomatoes. Prepared pie crust dough may be used.Quiche may be served hot, warm or chilled, and reheats well in a low oven.
Prepared pie dough or pâte brisée for one 9-inch single crust
Roasted tomato petals:
6 to 8 tomatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
4 sprigs thyme
1 teaspoon coarse salt
Caramelized onions:
3 large onions (about two pounds), sliced
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon flour
Quiche filling:
3 large eggs
¾ cup (175 ml) heavy cream
Coarse salt, ground pepper
½ teaspoon fresh thyme
3 ounces (90 grams) Gruyère cheese, grated
1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Slice an ‘x’ on the bottom of each tomato. Drop into boiling water for a few seconds, then plunge into a bowl of ice water. Tear the flaps on the “x” to remove skin. Cut out the core and then quarter and remove the seeds. Line slivers on parchment atop a baking sheet. Drizzle on the oil and add garlic, thyme and salt. Gently bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until they are tender.
2. Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan melt the butter with the olive oil. Add the onions and bay leaf. Cook and stir patiently until they’re brown and soft, about a half hour. Once browned, sprinkle with flour and a dash of salt and cook another 2 minutes. Set aside to cool. Remove the tomato petals from the sheet, let cool.
3. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees. Roll out the dough, press it into a quiche or pie pan. Pierce the bottom with a fork. To keep its shape, set parchment or aluminum foil in the center and fill with pie weights or dry beans. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove weights, brush the pastry with beaten egg and return to oven for 7 minutes. Cool slightly.
4. Whisk the eggs and cream in a bowl. Stir in about one-third of the cheese, salt, pepper and thyme. Stir in the cooled onions and then pour into the pastry shell. Arrange tomatoes in decorative pattern on top. Sprinkle on remaining Gruyère. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes until firm, slightly browned and a bit puffy.
Makes one quiche, or six to eight slices.
