Vegetarian Quiche

Have you ever been some where and bam! you are hit with a memory jogger? Have you ever been doing something totally normal (like Saturday shopping, or commuting on the train to work) and you turn around and there he is. It's that guy you dated for like two weeks in university. Or its what that guy you dated for like two weeks in university looks like from the back. Slow turn....and from the front he is no where close to that guy you dated for like two weeks in university.

But still, it gets you thinking about all those silly things that you remember about that person, or that time in your life. It's kind of a neat feeling. Sure, you might have totally hated him a week later (ahhh, university was such a simple time!), but let's hope the memory jogger at least drags up at least one giggle. I know it did for me.

So that relationship was clearly a fail. And so was this recipe. Kind of.

There are no "prep" pictures for this post. Yup, they didn't turn out. At all. Not even a teeny bit.  But, let's be honest (because as cooks we have to be): fails have to be something to laugh at after they happen.   Just like the guy you dated for like two weeks in university. Just like how my co-worker today told me that she had a total "grocery store fail" where she thought she was buying edamame and got home and realized she had frozen peas. Cute fail! 

My fail wasn't anywhere close to as cute as the grocery store story.  Quiches can be really cute and frankly during the process of preparing this quiche mine just wasn't cute at all. To give you a bit of an indication let's just say step 4. in the directions below wasn't exactly the step or approach that I ended up taking.  There was not rolling out of the dough into a pretty crust. I ended up pressing the crust into the pan in a very ad hoc way instead. This being said I am still very proud of the crust! Sure, it's not the prettiest quiche of them all, but trust me, it tastes so good. It's almost artsy too how the vegetables seem to end up being split -- onion side, red pepper side, and somewhere in their hides the cauliflower!

Just look at that crust! Flaky, perfect, and gluten free!

Vegetarian Quiche (inspired by Joy the Baker)

The Crust:

1 cups Cup4Cup all-purpose gluten-free flour

1/2 cup brown rice flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes (I used olive oil spread)

4 tbsp buttermilk

The Filling:

1 cup egg whites

1 large egg

1 cup milk

1/2 cups diced red pepper

1/2 cup diced sweet onion

1/2 cup diced cauliflower

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup grated old cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and salt.  Add cold, cubed butter and cut it into the flour with a pastry cutter.  Add the buttermilk, a tablespoon at a time until the dough just comes together. Shape the dough into a ball and allow to chill in the fridge while you mix the quiche filling.

2. Preheat the over to 375 F. Dice up vegetables, and grate the cheese. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl whisk together egg whites, egg and milk until you get a fluffy light mixture, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and roll out on to a lightly floured surface.  Transfer your crust to a greased pie plate. Sprinkle cheese in the bottom of your unbaked crust. Add diced vegetables on top of your cheese, and then pour your egg-milk mixture over the vegetables. 

5. Carefully place the quiche in the oven and bake for 45-55 minutes or until the quiche puffs up and appears firm when shaken lightly.