Apr 13, 2022

Easter Quiche

A sunny Easter quiche full of flavour and ready for the holiday table.

This sunny Easter quiche is sure to brighten any spring table. Hidden beneath all that eggy goodness is a layer of onion and potato, which gives this quiche depth and a hardiness. Sprinkled throughout are lovely sweet green peas all encased in a flaky pie shell.

I like to use my recipe for Simple Pie Dough, as it gives me extra dough to work with. Spring-form pans are deeper than a typical pie plate so a little extra dough is needed; however, if you have a deep dish pie plate this should also work. If you elect to use a store-bought pie shell, get a two-part shell, or a deep dish pie shell.

Alternately, this recipe can be divided across two regular pie shells, or halved for a single smaller quiche.

This recipe is appropriate for ovo-lacto vegetarians as it contains no meat. If this is not a concern, some chopped ham or bacon can be sautéed with the onion and potato for extra flavour. This will, of course, increase the calorie count.

Ingredients

(Makes 8 servings)

4 large eggs, hardboiled
My Simple Pie Dough Recipe, blind baked (or store-bought transferred into a 9-inch springform pan)
1 tablespoon avocado oil
1 medium sweet onion, finely diced
1 medium white or yellow potato, peeled, shredded, rinsed and well dried
12 large eggs
1 cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt
1/2 cup sharp white cheddar, shredded
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 cup sweet green peas, divided, thawed if using frozen
fresh dill or fennel leaves (optional)

Directions

Prepare my Simple Pie Dough recipe and mould it into a deep, 9-inch springform pan. To blind bake, preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Dock the bottom and sides of the dough before placing a sheet of parchment paper inside the pie shell and filling completely to the top with pie weights. Place the pie in the centre of the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the dough turns a light golden brown. If you see any damp spots, continue baking for an additional few minutes, or until the damp spots are baked. Remove from the oven and let rest for a few minutes. Using a sharp knife, trim off any excess dough along the edge. Cool to room temperature. (Alternately, use a store-bought, deep dish pie crust and prepare according to package instructions for blind baking. Cool to room temperature.)

While the crust blind bakes, prepare the hardboiled eggs. Half-fill a saucepan with water and place over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then carefully add 4 eggs. Boil for 10 minutes then remove from heat. Transfer boiled eggs into a bath of cold water to cool. Once the eggs can be handled, peel the shells and slice the eggs in half along its longest length. Set egg halves aside.

In a sauté pan over medium-high heat, add the oil. Once the oil is hot, add the onions, shredded potato (ensure the potato is as dry as possible after rinsing), and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Sauté until the potato begins to soften and lightly brown (about 10 minutes). Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and let steam for 10 minutes. At the 5-minute mark stir the potato and onion to avoid sticking to the bottom of the pan and to check the softness of the potato. Once the potato is tender, remove from heat and set aside, cover off.

Preheat/reheat the oven to 300°F / 150°C.

In a large mixing bowl add the dozen eggs and whisk to break up the yolks. Whisk in the yogurt, cheese, salt, and ground white pepper.

Into the cooled pie shell, spread the onion and potato mixture evenly along the bottom. Add 2/3 of the thawed peas. Pour in the egg mixture. Spread the remaining peas over the top then nestle in the halved, hardboiled eggs, yolk-side up.

Bake for 60 to 75 minutes until the quiche has risen and no liquid egg is remaining. Remove from oven and let stand until cooled before slicing and serving. Optional: garnish with fresh dill or fennel leaves.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: