Mustard, Cheese and Sausage Quiche

Ted Ruegsegger, 12 June 2010

Summary

At our house we're fond of quiche, though we don't worry about formality or "correctness". We throw in what's handy and tasty and long ago dispensed with the crust. If you want the authoritative quiche Lorraine, there are plenty of places to find it, but this isn't one.

This is simply a cheesy egg custard with flavorful goodies scattered throughout. Feel free to improvise with different meats like ham or bacon or no meat at all, different cheeses like cheddar or feta, or different vegetables/greens like spinach or broccoli. The ingredients listed here simply document the way we made it on a single occasion, while experimenting with uses for a wild mustard that had taken over the garden.

Ingredients

• 6 eggs, or increase to serve more people
• 1/3 cup skim milk (skim is what we have, but any milk will work)
• 1/8–1/4 lb Gruyère cheese, shredded or thinly sliced; how fine depends whether you like a uniform custard or one with cheesy islands
• Half a medium-size onion, chopped
• 4 or 5 medium-size fresh mushrooms, or about half a typical grocery-store container
• Half a green bell pepper
• A pat or two of butter
• A generous handful of washed mustard greens (I expect this will work fine with frozen greens since so many quiche recipes use frozen spinach)
• A sausage, in our case a frozen 3-oz Aidells "roasted garlic and Gruyère cheese smoked chicken and turkey sausage" 'cause that was what was handy

Preparation

1. In a wide glass or ceramic baking dish, lightly beat the eggs until a uniform consistency.
2. Stir in the milk and the cheese.
3. In a skillet, melt the butter and toss in the onion, mushrooms and peppers, stirring or tossing so it all caramelizes evenly.
4. When the sautéed items are mostly done, add the mustard greens.
   
5. Stir until the greens are nicely wilted.
   
6. Stir the sautéed garlic, onions, mushrooms, peppers and mustard into the egg and cheese custard base.
   
7. Slice the sausage and scatter the slices over the top.
   
8. Bake at 400°F half an hour. Check for doneness by jiggling the dish to see whether the center is still fluid. If it's not done, bake some more. Better err on the side of overbaking than underbaking. When done, take it out and admire it.
   
9. Serve fresh from the oven. We throw a couple of baguettes in the hot oven for the last few minutes.
   

Notes

Serves four generously, more depending what else you serve.

It's great the next day, either cold or reheated. Like any custard it can get a little watery but still tastes fine.

Contacting the Author

Theodore B. Ruegsegger