A Crustless Quiche

A Crustless Quiche

Every couple of weeks I gather around the table with some of the best women I know. Some I have known for thirty years and some for as short a time as five. Ostensibly we gather to knit, and sometimes we actually do as we share good conversation, celebrate each other’s milestone, support one another in times of trial, and always enjoy good food. Our table last night represented the peak of the summertime harvest with offerings made from fresh beans, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, chard, onions, garlic, and herbs. My contribution to the table was something I put together easily in minutes–a crustless quiche made with chard. 

After harvesting fresh stalks of chard from my garden, I chopped it, put it in a heated skillet with a little oil, and let it wilt.

Beautiful stalks of chard ready to harvest for a crustless quiche.

I grated some parmesan cheese and fork beat a few eggs, mixed everything together, and popped it in the oven to bake while I tidied myself up. Ten minutes or so before it was set, I laid some slices of homegrown tomatoes on top, sprinkled a little extra olive oil over them, and let it bake for another 7-10 minutes. When I pulled it out, I garnished it with a few just picked basil leaves. 

 As soon as it came out of the oven, I covered it with a green and white checked napkin, placed it in a basket, and headed off to the gathering. I wish I had a picture of the finished quiche but I simply forgot. We ate, and laughed, sang, and celebrated a birthday with beautiful pavlovas topped with fresh berries and whipped cream prompting one of us to say, “Even if we don’t knit at all our gatherings, we’ll never die hungry!” 😉

Anyway, here’s the recipe for what I made. I hope you like it as much as we all did. 

Print Recipe

Crustless Quiche with Chard

An fresh and easy quiche that can be made without a crust.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time25 mins

Total Time40 mins

Cuisine: Good

Servings: 6

Author: Kate McDermott-Art of the Pie

Ingredients

• 1 pound chard strip of stems and chopped in small pieces
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 5 cloves garlic roughly chopped
• salt and pepper
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup Regianno Parmesan cheese grated
• 1 ripe medium tomato sliced in 1/4 inch rounds
• basil leaves

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400F.
• Grease a shallow 9" pie pan with olive oil and set aside.
• Rinse and pat dry the chard. Remove the stems and chop into small pieces.
• In a large cast iron frying pan or other skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and stir around for 30 seconds or so.
• Add the chard. Stir around occasionally and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. When well wilted and cooked, remove from heat.
• In a medium size bowl, fork beat 3 eggs. Add the Parmesan cheese, and chard.
• Turn the mixture into the greased pie pan and bake for 15 minutes.
• Open oven and carefully remove hot pan. Arrange the sliced tomato on top, sprinkle with a teaspoon or two of olive oil, and return to oven for 10 more minutes or until the quiche is set.
• Remove from oven. Garnish with small basil leaves. Grind a little fresh pepper on top. Let cool a bit and serve.

Notes

If you are allergic to garlic, it's ok to leave it out.