Herb and Cheese Quiche

I decided on a use for my last store-bought frozen pie crust.  It has been on the top shelf of the chest freezer for many months, mocking me every time I open the lid.  The few pies I've made lately have required specialty crusts or were unusual sizes.  All of my upcoming pie-related projects are also going to be from-scratch.

If you're not making the crust yourself, quiches are as easy as scrambled eggs.  Just because something has a French name doesn't mean it's difficult or requires special equipment.

For the purpose of this quiche, celery is an herb.  It really is anyway, but we treat the stalks as a vegetable.  My regrown celery is more of a bush, with huge leaves.  I used them instead of buying parsley, and probably will for the foreseeable future.  If I didn't already have celery salt, I would dehydrate a lot of the stems and pulverize them into powder.  I did that with the rest of the fresh lemongrass from the satay because it was starting to turn.  If you have a convection oven, check your manual.  You probably have a dehydrator option.

Remember, if you're spending a lot of money on a quiche, you're doing it wrong.  Use whatever cheese you have on hand.  Get rid of some herbs when you didn't need the whole bunch for a recipe.  You can use half and half or cream if you have it instead of milk, but that isn't necessary.  Quiches were invented to clear out leftovers.

*1 9" pie crust, bottom only
3 eggs
1 C milk
*4 oz soft cheese of choice, shredded
*2 C assorted fresh herbs such as parsley, cilantro, basil, celery, oregano, etc
*1 stalk celery
*2 Tb onion (I used the white of the green onion)
2 tsp olive oil
Salt and white pepper to taste

1.  Preheat oven to 375º.  If crust was frozen, allow to thaw while you prepare the filling.  Place it on a rimmed baking sheet in case of overflow.

2.  Finely chop celery stalk and onion.  Cook in oil over medium heat just to soften, about 5 minutes.  Set aside.

3.  In a bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and shredded cheese.  Whisk in a bit of salt and white pepper.  Chop up the fresh herbs and add to the mix, then stir in the cooked mixture.  I put them in after, and they just floated.  Coating them in egg will give you more at the bottom of the crust when you cut it.

4.  Pour filling into the pie crust.  Bake at 375º for 20 minutes.  Lower heat to 325º and cook until set, about 15-20 minutes more.  The crust should be golden but not dark, and a knife inserted into the center should come out clean.  Allow to rest 15 minutes before cutting.  Can also be made ahead and refrigerated.  Serve hot, room temperature, or cold.

Serves 6

Difficulty rating  π