Tomato & Green Pea Quiche

File this post under I make versions of the same things over and over and over again. But, I still think you need to know about this one, even if its similar to this and this.

I made this tomato and green pea quiche the day before I left for the Vineyard. I had just finished the last piece of this quiche out of my freezer, and I wanted to have something in my freezer for when I got back late from the trip in a week. Having a few meals stashed away in the freezer when I get home from a vacation always make the transition back to reality a bit easier.

I had a whole lot of eggs, but otherwise, I was pretty much out of groceries. I did have my stash of canned tomatoes, which I always have on hand so I can make shakshuka when the moment strikes. I also had green peas in the freezer left over from making this pasta dish from the Jerusalem cookbook.

I googled, “can you make quiche with canned tomatoes” and arrived at this winter tomato quiche recipe from the New York Times. This was proof that my current recipe filing system is not really working for me (by which I mean emailing myself links to good looking recipes and then promptly forgetting about them), because I had actually seen this recipe when it was published last year.

One look at the beautiful red-orange color of that tomato filling, and I was ready to go. I used my most-favorite go-to crust, that I used for this quiche and riffed on for this tart, threw in some peas to bulk up the veg component, and replaced some of the cheese with a Greek yogurt and olive oil sauce.

I tried a piece before storing it in the freezer, and was amazed by how custardy and rich the tomato filling became, without any cream or butter. Greek yogurt is truly magic.

We’ve been cooking up a storm so far in the Vineyard (you can see photos on Instagram), but my posting is a bit delayed. Cooking with small cousins underfoot apparently makes taking step-by-step pictures a little tougher? Who knew. The trade-off was worth it though, and I hope to post some good stuff in the coming days!

• Servings: 8
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Tomato & Green Pea Pie

Adapted from The New York Times

For the Crust:

In-the-pan whole wheat crust

For the filling:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (and juices)

1 tablespoon tomato paste

pinch of sugar

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

salt and pepper to taste

2 eggs

2 egg yolks (I used the leftover whites to make omelette tacos)

3/4 cup milk (I used soy because it was all I had and it turned out great, skim or 2% will work well too)

1/4 cup grated or shaved parmesan cheese

1/2 cup frozen green peas

For the Greek yogurt sauce:

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

1 garlic clove, minced

drizzle of olive oil

salt and pepper

1. Make the crust in the pie pan, and freeze and blind bake, following the instructions here.

Once the crust is in the oven, make the tomato sauce:

1. Puree the canned tomatoes and juices in a food processor until smooth. Set aside.
2. In a heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
3. Once the olive oil is warm, add the onion and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Add a pinch of salt and cook the onions for another 5 minutes or so, until soft and translucent.
5. Lower the heat slightly and add the 3 cloves of minced garlic, and cook for 30 seconds. Be careful not to burn the garlic–keep an eye on it and stir!
6. Pour in the tomato puree and turn up the heat to medium high.
7. Add the tomato paste, pinch of sugar, salt, and dried thyme to the pot.
8. Simmer the sauce noisily for 15 minutes, until the juices have evaporated and the sauce has cooked down.
9. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and remove from the heat. Allow to cool.

Next, make the yogurt sauce:

1. Add the yogurt, garlic clove, olive oil, salt and pepper to a small bowl and stir to combine.

Prepare the filling:

1. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and egg yolks together.
2. Whisk in the milk, and add salt and pepper.
3. Fold in the grated cheese and the frozen peas (no need to defrost them).
4. Fold in the yogurt sauce and the tomato mixture.
5. Stir well, and pour into the crust.

Bake the quiche:

1. Pour the filling into the cooled crust, and place the pie pan on a baking sheet.
2. Bake the pie pan on the baking sheet at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
3. Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.
4. To freeze, allow to cool fully, slice the quiche into wedges, wrap each wedge in tin foil, and then place in a freezer bag.

Addictive Kale Bites

This is another guest post from my lovely mom. Thanks for sharing, mama!

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Kale bites are comfort food in our family. First introduced to me by a friend, I have been making them almost weekly for the past few years. My friend’s version was heavier on the cheese–she suggested using parmesan, swiss, or even cottage cheese. I am not a big cheese fan and discovered that nonfat Greek yogurt was a delicious addition, with parmesan cheese used as an accent. Her version was also baked in cupcake tins, hence the name kale “bites.”

Zucchini Tomato Tart

I know I just shared a quiche recipe with you, so its a little soon to share another dish with a crust and a filling and all that, but guys, this is really, really delicious. I think you should strongly consider making it tonight, especially if you are battling a zucchini surplus.

There is a pizza place here in DC, District of Pi, that makes the most amazing deep dish pizza. I don’t think its all that authentic (not trying to make any Chicagoans mad or anything), but the crust has a cornmeal base, the filling is less cheese heavy and more veggie-laden than other deep dish pizza I’ve had, and its all coated in a thick, garlicky tomato sauce.

Tomato, Corn, and Arugula Quiche with Whole Wheat Crust

I made quiche for only the first time recently, which is a bit crazy, given my love of eggs. I was planning on having four or so friends over for dinner on a Friday night, and it was going to be hot, hot, hot out, so a light dinner seemed to be in order.

As Friday grew closer, the guest list grew longer. A few friends asked to bring a couple other friends, and before I knew it, it had turned into a full-fledged dinner party. The more the merrier was my attitude (for the most part, I may have panicked about running out of food a few times…), and one quiche became two, which became three.