Quiche, lightened up

[sasha1]

Question for the cooks - how can quiche be lightened up? I was looking at last Wed's NYT dining articles, where they were talking about quiche, but their short pastry crust was a cup of flour, a stick of butter.

I love quiche, but I can't afford those sort of calories. Anyone have ideas?

Please don't say scrambled eggs!!! :)

Is there any decent no crust, or reduced guilt crust that can be used? I know I can sub milk for cream in the filling, and limit myself to veg and lean protein rather than cheese.

[Berheenia]

I just ate 8 cheese and crackers reading this thread! Never skip lunch. On topic I used to make a spinach pie that was like a quiche and we used canned evaporated milk instead of the light cream the recipe called for and it was delicious. Back then there was no fat free half and half but I think that would work too. Also sub more egg whites and fewer yolks. Epicurious has a recipe that uses 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of dry breadcrumbs as a crust 'Butter quiche dish, then sprinkle all over with bread crumbs....'

[sunshine842]

be careful with some of the fat-free dairy products -- some of them have a bad habit of breaking when heated.

[operagirl]

I made a quiche last week using roasted garlic olive oil instead of butter in the pastry crust . . . rolled out between two pieces of plastic wrap and carefully flipped it into the pie pan. Still had to do some patching up (it's more fragile than butter-based crust), but it baked up fantastically! Didn't put any cream or such in the filling either -- just 3 eggs and 1/3 C. 1% milk made it plenty rich. Filling was roasted onions, yams, and apples.

[Zereh]

This is what I use for quiche crust, I can't imagine one needing a whole cup of butter
1 cup + 2 Tbsp flour (I use WW pastry)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cold, cubed butter
3-4 tablespoons milk

I use 5 eggs + enough milk to make 1.5 cups of liquid to put over the filling

I've also used leftover coconut milk and a T or so of red curry paste w/ the eggs with great success.

[sasha1]

A stick of butter is a 1/2 cup, not a whole cup. So the OP recipe, above is for a 1/2 cup of butter. 8 tbsp vs your approximately 5.5 tbsp (1/3 cup). So a little savings, not a huge amount.

[jvanderh]

I've made this one with a few different fillings, and I like it a lot. http://www.thatjewcancook.com/?p=707

[biondanonima]

If just reducing carbs is enough to assuage your guilt, you can make a crust from ground nuts, sausage, etc. I sometimes line muffin cups with slices of ham and pour my quiche mixture into that, then bake - tasty and easy to serve.

[Niblet]

I make a crustless quiche by greasing the pie plate and tapping bread crumbs all around. Then place lots of veg on the bottom, a little cheese & maybe some crumbly bits of bacon, and gently pour in the egg and milk or cream filling.

[smaki]

Impossible pies taste good. No crust, lots of eggs. Add vegetables. 8/12/12 pics of a pie I made using pepperoni are at: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/864083

[Niblet]

Looks good! (as does your super-clean oven)

[sasha1]

I've never heard of an impossible pie. Can you elaborate? Unless it's just what you said above - no crust, lots of eggs and add ins.

[smaki]

Impossible pie is a very common recipe Bisquick came up with and is often on the box. Is a quick way to make a kind of quiche. Where put something like chopped onion, kielbasa sausage cut in chunks, grated cheese, and chopped tomato in a greased oven safe baking dish (to help brown as well as not stick). Then pour a liquid over and bake to set. A pie crust is usually not used. Here is their base recipe: http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/i....

TIPS:

1. A substitute for Bisquick that works is 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, with 1/2 cup flour.

2. I like to cook onions on the stove ahead of time so translucent even caramelized when put into the baking dish. Using raw onion is better than nothing in this, but not as good as when cook onions to sweet and soft ahead of time.

3. Eats well left over reheated even cold. While I feel the more-fluffy texture when fresh is best. However eaten, it is a great-tasting combination of the fillings.

4. Sometimes I add an extra egg or two for extra protein, and still seams to turn out fine.

5. Cooking it completely in the middle is the goal (while not burning the outside). A raw center sucks. A tooth pick or butter knife when put in the center should come out clean when it is cooked. I usually bake it 10 minutes longer than when shake and moves in the middle.

Hope this helps. Enjoy!

[antimony]

Shredded or mashed potato crust! You do have to blind bake them first.

This isn't my blog, but this is the same crust recipe I use:
http://dubberley.wordpress.com/2009/0...

You bake the crust first, and it will slump more than a regular pie crust -- just don't worry about it too much -- it might not come all the way up the sides of the quiche but you'll be able to get it out as long as you really do oil/butter the pie pan well -- don't skimp on that to make it low fat; it's not that much oil/butter and it's important.

[mariab]

Just because you aren't using a short crust or a pie crust as a layer in your savory egg pie doesn't mean it has to have no crust at all. Dare I mention the B word (Bisquick)? There are plenty of recipes for homemade crustless quiches out there that play off the same principle as their "Impossible Pies." One I use has you saute the fillings you are using and add them to a pie plate. Then you pour over two eggs and two egg whites beaten with 1-1/3 cups skim milk, 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 tsp baking powder and a dash cayenne pepper and some salt, pouring that over the top, and sprinkling with a small amount of grated cheese. Bake at 400 for about 30 minutes. Is it the delicious, high calorie quiche I love? No. But it is fast, tastes good and is lower in calories and fat than traditional quiche.

[sasha1]

Had not thought at all of adding a little flour to the filling. I may try that out - sounds promising. Thanks!

[greygarious]

This thread is about to arrive at a dairy-less omelet. Tantamount to apple pie without crust - that's applesauce. Crustless and creamless quiche is not quiche, IMO. If you are cooking it for yourself, you're free to call it anything you want but if you are preparing it for others, do call it something other than quiche, so they will not be disappointed.

[sunshine842]

+gazillion. Well-said.

[sasha1]

I'm cooking it for myself. And really, I was more interested in a lower fat/calorie bomb crust (vs 1 cup flour 1 stick butter) than no crust at all.

But no one has provided that tip yet.

[hotoynoodle]

because pastry relies on ratios to succeed. you need a certain amount of butter for the dough to work.

[sasha1]

So what really is the diff between a no crust quiche and a frittata?

[Crockett67]

exactly... ;)

[hotoynoodle]

i don't use milk or cream in a frittata.

[Dcfoodblog]

Also, less eggs, more vegetables.

[Crockett67]

I use lots of vegetables, drop the meat (keep the cheese!!) and make it a frittata instead of a quiche.

But I don't like pie crusts.

[hotoynoodle]

just omit the crust. you don't need it and this spares calories for a more delicious filling.

eta: i also now always use ruhlman's ratio and slow-cook, water-bath method for quiche. it becomes a rich savory custard.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/st...

[melpy]

I do crust less quiches. I've used a variety of recipes for this.