French in a Flash: Broccoli Quiche with Gruyère and Cheddar

Broccoli and Cheese Quiche

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Quiche is like a great pair of jeans: There is no time when either is inappropriate. These days, jeans will get you into a Broadway play, a New York diner, and even, if you’re lucky, an office. So base and simple, they’ve become elegant, a canvas left blank to suit your fancy.

And then there’s quiche. I love the kind of food that you make, and then have one slice of right out of the oven. Then, you swaddle it in plastic wrap, and when lunch rolls around you sneak over to the fridge for another slice. And then for dinner. And then for breakfast again. And then, suddenly, it’s gone. Perpetually appropriate, hot, cold, or warm, quiche isn’t fussy. It doesn’t demand anything of you except your appetite—no predilections or cravings.

I make this quiche, a simple but perfect broccoli and Gruyèrenumber, by pressing bought pie crust into a fluted tart pan. Fill it with custard, and stud it with the rainforest canopy tops of broccoli and the nutty, hot-soup-in-the-Alps fortitude of Gruyère cheese.

Thanksgiving is a party dress—you wear it once a year and nothing else will do, but after a week of only-wear-once turkey and cranberry, you’re itching to get back into those old blue jeans. There is nothing holiday about this—just happy, simple comfort that will take you anywhere. Dress it up as you wish.

Broccoli and Cheese Quiche

serves 6

Ingredients

• 1 pie crust
• 3 eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 1/2 cups half and half
• 1/2 pound broccoli florets
• 2 ounces grated Gruyère
• 2 ounces grated sharp white cheddar
• 1/4 cup fresh chervil, roughly chopped
• Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Procedure

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Roll out the piecrust slightly, so it fits into a fluted 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Chill.



Blanch the broccoli in salted boiling water for 2 minutes. Shock in ice water. Drain, and pat dry.

Scatter the cheese and chervil on the bottom of the crust. Arrange the broccoli around the crust, florets pointing up.

Whisk together the eggs, yolk, and half and half. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into the crust.

Place the tart shell on a baking sheet, and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Allow to rest for 15 minutes. Then slice into 6 slices and serve.

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