“Shall I not have intelligence with the earth?
Am I not partly leaves and vegetable mould myself.”

— Henry David Thoreau

Basil tickles the senses like no other herb that I know. Ripe heirloom tomatoes🍅 with a bit of lemon flake sea salt 🍋 makes my mouth water thinking about it in our grey weather 🌁 today in Seattle. Sizzling zucchini fresh from the CSA box burps and spits at me in the sauté pan. This quiche is about engaging your senses and using up those summer vegetables that are starting to overtake your garden or your fridge.

The taste of summer☀️ lingers with every bit of this quiche; whether the vegetables🍆🍅🌽 come from your garden or the farmer's market around the corner. You are going to want to make this over and over even though the last days of summer are upon us. I say that and AUGUST has just begun. So get started now! Go out and pick those veggies or get on your bike and head over to the market. You won't regret making this delectable summer quiche. I am thinking your sweetie or your friends whoever you decide to share this quiche with will be pounding on your door soon asking if they can stay the night and eat breakfast at your table. 😉

Ingredients:

Quiche crust
6-8 large eggs
4 large tablespoons sour cream or creme fraiche
2 zucchini
1 yellow or striped squash
2-3 ripe red or yellow tomatoes
4 cloves of chopped garlic
1/4 cup of chopped kalamata greek olives
5-10 basil leaves chopped
1/2 cup grated parmigiano reggiano
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper

Step 1:

Make quiche/tart crust or buy a premade from the store.

Step 2:

Slice zucchini and squash 1/8 inch thick and place on baking sheet. Toss kosher salt over each piece and let sit for 45 minutes. This allows the water to be removed from the vegetables.

Step 3:

Slice tomatoes 1/8 inch thick, place in colander and cover lightly with kosher salt for 30 minutes. This will season them up and allow for drainage of excess water.

Step 4:

While waiting for crust and vegetables, chop the garlic, olives and basil. Grate the parmigiano.

Step 5:

Preheat oven to 425 F/200 C. Then remove crust from refrigerator after one hour and prepare

Step 6:

While crust is cooking, rinse zucchini and squash of salt and pat thoroughly dry. This step is very important! After patting dry the zucchini and squash, heat a small amount 2 tablespoons of olive oil in pan and saute in batches if needed zucchini and squash. Do not overcrowd the pan with vegetables. Cooking only to allow vegetables to become slightly, but not completely tender. Be careful not to overcook them.

Step 7:

Blend eggs and sour cream until light yellow in color. Do not add salt or pepper to mixture at this time.

Step 8:

After removing pre-baked crust from oven. Begin layering process with vegetables into the crust. Place zucchini alternating with squash one layer on the bottom of the crust. Next place drained tomatoes over layer of zucchini/squash. Then sprinkle a layer of chopped garlic,olives and basil over tomatoes. Sprinkle parmigiano over this layer. Continue this pattern until all vegetables have been used.

Step 9:

Next pour egg mixture to cover all of vegetables and reaches the peak of the crust. If not enough egg mixture do to the size of the pan; mix another egg and sour cream until crust is filled with mixture. Cover egg mixture with the parmigiano making sure it is completely covered with cheese.

Step 10:

Place in oven for 25-30 minutes or until knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Bon Appétit!

Tips:

Purchasing parmigiano pre-grated can decrease time in the kitchen but make sure to avoid the finely grated, powdery stuff.
Please DON'T put Tomatoes in your refrigerator- it is sacrilege and the ruins the flavor!
Trader Joe's carries kalamata olives for a reasonable price.
Think local and find your vegetables in your area.
CSA box way to use up veggies
You might want to buy a few extra tomatoes if using heirlooms as they will probably get eaten before you have a chance to put them in your quiche.
Basil grows like a weed; think about planting your own.
Want a complete meal? Add a green salad with a homemade vinaigrette like the French.

Pairing:

A nice glass of chilled Prosecco pairs nicely with this summer quiche. Not savvy to Prosecco? Check out this site.