Garden Vegetable Quiche Sans Le Crust

One of my favorite surprises waiting for me after a vacation is the patch of ground outside our back door;  checking out which plants are blooming, bearing fruit or just plain pushing out a few new leaves.  While we played golf in driving rain and freezing wind on the Old Course at Saint Andrews, among others in Scotland, the Bay Area experienced a short heat wave, which after all our rain in March caused the garden to explode.  We enjoyed our adventure playing golf in Scotland and Ireland where I believe they are still experiencing rain and cold temperatures.  Here in the outdoor warmth of home I harvested baby kale and carrots from my vegetable garden for this vegetable quiche which is so easy to make without pastry.   I added a few Yukon gold potatoes along with a small red onion and an ear of corn to make this quiche a hearty one for last night's dinner.  In the coming weeks I will share photos, a few recipes and some inspiration from our golf trip to Scotland and Ireland.

Look at the sun shining on the baby kale, it's very easy to grow.  I also tried baby kale with blood oranges and raspberries in a salad last month. I have big plans for my patch of tender baby kale, including making soup and a few more salads.  Spending two rainy Spring weeks in Scotland and Ireland makes me appreciate the sunshine we enjoy here in California at the same time of year.

The bright green colors of kale remind me of the beautiful countryside in Ireland, I'll have to return in the Summer, maybe we will be luckier with the weather that time of year.  There are also a few golf courses we would love to play in Ireland.  The one beautiful day we enjoyed on the golf course was in Ireland at Dook's Golf Course in Kerry.  I actually took off my jacket and put on sunglasses!

My Garden Vegetable Quiche San Le Crust would make a nice addition to a Mother's Day Brunch or served for a weeknight's dinner with a salad as I did last night.  Have fun decorating your quiche with edible flowers and sprigs of herbs to make a simple quiche look pretty on your table.

Ingredients and Directions for Garden Vegetable Quiche Sans Le Crust

Serves 6-8

Preheat the oven to 350F

Butter  a deep dish pie plate

3 cups washed and chopped baby kale

2 medium carrots, sliced

1 small red onion, chopped

2 medium small Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced

1 ear of corn, blanched with kernels removed

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/3 cup dry white wine

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

2 eggs

1 cup heavy cream

1 generous pinch red pepper flakes

1 cup grated Gruyère Cheese

1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet.  Sauté the onions until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add the carrots and potatoes, cook and stir occasionally for several minutes.  Add the wine, turn down the heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes, until the veggies are tender.  Add the chopped kale, cook and stir for a few minutes.  Add the corn kernels, season with salt and pepper, remove from the heat, set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs and whisk in the heavy cream with a pinch of red pepper flakes.  Stir in the Gruyère cheese and vegetable mixture.  Pour the quiche filling into the prepared pie plate and top with bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese.  

Bake until browned and the custard is set, about 30 minutes.  Cool slightly before serving, decorate with flowers if you like.