This Vegetable Quiche Recipe uses tricks learned in culinary school to make the silkiest egg custard baked in the flakiest pastry shell. Make ahead and reheat!
Arrange oven rack in bottom third of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Place parchment paper over pie shell and spread dried beans or pie weights across parchment to weigh it down. Transfer to oven; bake 15 minutes. Transfer to cooling rack and remove pie weights and parchment paper. Leave oven on.
Meanwhile, in bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat eggs, half and half, salt, pepper, cayenne, and nutmeg until smooth.
Heat butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallot and mushrooms, and cook 3 to 4 minutes or until vegetables are softened, stirring occasionally. Add zucchini and cook 3 to 4 minutes or until zucchini releases its liquid, stirring occasionally. Stir in spinach, sundried tomatoes and thyme and cook 1 to 2 minutes or until spinach is slightly wilted, stirring frequently.
Place pie shell on rimmed baking pan. Spread half of cheese in even layer across bottom of pie shell. Spread vegetable mixture in even layer over cheese. Evenly pour egg mixture over vegetables, and then sprinkle remaining cheese over egg mixture.
Transfer to oven and bake 40 to 50 minutes or until center of quiche is just set. If edges of crust begin to get too brown before center of quiche is set, cover the edges with a silicone pie crust shield or a ring of aluminum foil for the last 10 to 15 minutes of baking time.
Transfer quiche to cooling rack; let stand 10 minutes. Slice and serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Baking your quiche in the bottom third of the oven will help to brown and cook the bottom of the crust more completely. If cooking two quiches at a time, place them on the same sheet pan and rotate the pan halfway through cooking. You may need to add an extra 10 minutes of bake time if cooking two at a time.
My personal preference for sun dried tomatoes is almost always the kind packed in oil, because I think they have the best flavor and texture (and you can even use the oil from the jar to saute the rest of your veggies). Dry packed sun dried tomatoes work in a pinch, but you may need to plump them up a little bit in warm water to make them easier to chop.
A little tip that might change your life: place your filled quiche pan on a rimmed baking pan before putting it in the oven. This makes it WAY easier and safer to transfer the quiche to and from the oven.
This website provides estimated nutrition information as a courtesy only. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.