Cooking with Crosby Roamann: Spring Quiche with Cauliflower, Ham & Gruyere

Quiche starts to make an appearance in our house around this time of year, maybe because it makes such a wonderful Sunday Brunch. We like to include things from our winter garden -- chives, scallions, green onions, dill, and cauliflower -- and pair it with a well-chilled bottle of our Sauvignon Blanc -- as we like to serve it with winter lettuces fresh from the garden.

Our basic pie dough crust comes from Smitten Kitchen (you can find it here). We follow the instructions as closely as we can and always love the results -- a slightly sweet pie dough that matches well with anything from a savory quiche to a Maple Cream Pie.

For our spring quiche filling we use 5 eggs, 1 cup of cream, and 2 cups of grated gruyere cheese, plus two shallots, two cups of cauliflower florets, and one and a half cups of cubed ham steak, sauteed in three tablespoons of butter until gently browned all over.

Ingredients

• Smitten Kitchen Basic Pie Dough
• 5 eggs
• 1 cup of cream
• 2 cups of grated gruyere cheese
• 2 shallots, sliced very thinly
• 2 cups of cauliflower florets, about 1" each
• 1.5 cups of cubed ham steak, about 1/2" cubes
• 3 tablespoons of butter
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon fresh dill, minced
• 1 tablespoon diced chives, optional

Directions

• Prepare the pie dough and par-bake it, set it aside to cool.
• Reduce the over temperature to 300F
• In a large sauce pan, sautee the shallots, cauliflower, and ham steak in the butter and olive oil, until they are lightly browned, about 10 minutes, stirring along the way. Then set these aside to cool.
• Meanwhile, combine the eggs and cream in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Add the cheese.
• When the cauliflower mix has cooled slightly, add this to the bowl of eggs and cream. Add the fresh dill, and stir to combine. Add the chives if desired.
• Set the pie shell in a rimmed baking sheet (for ease of transport).
• Fill the pie shell to the edge with your quiche filling, and transfer it to the middle shelf in the oven.
• Bake for 50 minutes at 300F, or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Enjoy with a nicely chilled glass of our Sauvignon Blanc.