Turin Epicurean Capital: Terri Nakamura's quiche

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Terri Nakamura's quiche

As the weather hasn't warmed up yet in many parts of the world, Turin and Piedmont included, our friend Terri Nakamura shares with us a recipe with a springtime flavor.

Terri is a graphic designer, a Brand influencer, an awesome photographer, the owner of a surf shop in Seattle, a blogger and a woman with a deep sense of humor.

She has also two very cute cats that you can see on her Instagram account @terrinakamura

Please use this link for unit conversions and let's go with Terri's springtime quiche!

Quiche with Roasted Broccoli and Beecher’s Flagship Cheddar

The past three weeks I’ve been really sick and didn’t feel like eating, let alone cooking!

Feeling better and seeing the sun shining outside, today I decided to do a twist on a classic quiche.

The original recipe comes from a 1997 edition of The Joy of Cooking, under the Quiche Lorraine heading.

A few years ago, a friend made a humongous quiche in a springform pan. It was glorious and I decided then, it’s the way to go. It’s twice the height of a classic quiche, so as a basis, I’ve used The Joy of Cooking quiche custard recipe, doubling the custard ingredients and fillings.

To begin, I roasted about a pound and a half of broccoli florets by doing the following:

Roasted Broccoli:

Wash, trim stems, and cut into small pieces, no larger than 4cm in diameter. Dry thoroughly so the vegetables will roast instead of steam while in the oven.

Spread the broccoli in a single layer on a baking sheet, pouring about 2 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over the florets. Then sprinkle about 1 Tablespoon of sea salt over them. Toss the florets by hand until everything is lightly coated with olive oil and sea salt.

Place the broccoli in a 450° oven for about 30 minutes. Every 10 minutes or so, stir the florets so they are evenly browned. Remove and set aside.

Turn the heat down to 375°.

Assemble the rest of the ingredients:

• Piecrust for a large pie (I use oil-based crust instead of butter or lard)

• Custard:

• 6 eggs

• 3 cups of cream or half-and-half

• 1 teaspoon of salt

• 1/2 teaspoon of black ground pepper

• Large pinch of grated nutmeg

Other ingredients:

• 2 cups of grated cheese (I used Beecher’s Flagship Cheddar, which is a tangy cheddar)

• 1 1/3 cup of roasted broccoli florets

Beat custard ingredients together until well blended and a bit frothy.

Roll out the piecrust and line the springform pan, trimming excess if necessary.

Spread the grated cheese along the bottom, then distribute the roasted broccoli on top.

Pour the custard over the cheese and broccoli.

Place into the preheated oven for about an hour and a half. You can test the custard if the top looks browned, by inserting a knife to test. (It will come out clean if the custard is done.)