Add this Puff Pastry Quiche to your list of strange-but-wonderful recipes. But that’s OK, because I like the idea of making this unusual quiche for a breakfast or brunch. It’s a welcome departure from the standard, boring bacon-and-egg offerings. Yawn.
My friend, Sunnie, served this incredible quiche for breakfast one weekend. She adapted it from an online recipe.
It was so pretty, in an understated, rustic way. And it was so delicious that I wouldn’t limit it to breakfast fare.
In fact, cut into small pieces, this would make a make a delicious little appetizer. I could also imagine this served at a brunch, or a bridal or baby shower. So that dinner doesn’t feel left out, go ahead and serve it then, too, with a nice, simple salad.
But as I mentioned, This Puff Pastry Quiche is a little different. For one thing, it bakes flat on a baking sheet, instead of inside a pie or quiche pan. Also, while it’s called a quiche, its flatness makes it look like something born in the focaccia family.
This recipe does have a crust; one made of puff-pastry dough. (You’ll find it frozen in most grocery stores. Make sure you get the sheets, not the pastry cups.)
But instead of the crust holding a deep-dish filling as it does in a classic quiche, this crust acts as a foundation upon which toppings are placed directly on the unfolded, thawed puff pastry. No rolling, no nothing. Unbaked, it looks like a large, open-faced, wet sandwich.
Since this quiche is so shallow, and since it lacks such ingredients as half-and-half or cream, and since it only has modest eggs between two sheets – I’d like to believe that these factors will balance out the puff pastry’s calories. If you care.
As I watched Sunnie assemble the pair of “quiches” for breakfast, my instinct said we should build up a little pastry edge as a dam to keep the egg mixture from flowing overboard. Although we did that, during baking the edge flattened and didn’t retain its edge. So maybe that wasn’t necessary after all. I should have trusted the recipe.
Even so, there was some minor seepage, but nothing to write home about. (Since baked-on egg is one of the most difficult things to wash, I’d recommend parchment paper on your baking sheet or even foil, or you’ll spend more time washing the pan than assembling this quiche.)
Start with the puff pastry, stick to the quantities for eggs and sour cream and from there you can experiment and use your imagination.
For example, Sunnie’s original recipe called for ham , Swiss cheese and mushrooms, but since Bruce doesn’t like mushrooms, Sunnie substituted asparagus, which was delicious.
And I have no doubt that whatever you create will be delicious, too.
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Sunnie’s Puff Pastry Quiche
2 sheets frozen puff pastry (1 17.3-ounce package) thawed
1 cup ham, diced
2 cups cheese, such as Swiss, or any cheddar – grated
2 cups asparagus, steamed (or mushrooms other vegetable)
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped (or rosemary, oregano, etc.)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup sour cream
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Unfold 1 pastry sheet on each of 2 baking sheets.
Top with ham, cheese and vegetables, leaving a 1/2-inch border.
Whisk together the eggs, herbs, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Whisk in sour cream.
Spoon the egg mixture over the toppings on each pastry.
Bake until the pastries are puffed and golden and the toppings are set, about 25 minutes.
Cut into squares or rectangles and serve hot.
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