Ham and Broccoli Quiche

Ham, broccoli, sautéed green onions and mushrooms. Folded into beaten eggs and baked in a home made flaky butter crust.

I have no idea who started the “real men don’t eat quiche” cliche, but it seems a little rediculous if you ask me. My husband goes crazy over this meal. He may eat over half the pie by himself, but hey, someone has to eat it right? It paired perfectly with a beautiful avocado rose, fresh slices of tomato and sour cream mixed with garlic chili paste. Minus the pie crust, it really isn’t that hard to make. It did require two hands though, as my toddler wanted to be held and had other plans for my time than making brunch. The hubby had to step up and do most of the work. 

Here is what you need

Crust for one pie

1 1/4 cup flour, 14 cup additional for dusting

1/2 cup cold salted butter (cubed)

1/4 cup water 

1/2 teaspoon salt

Produce

1 head of broccoli (stems and all yields 2 cups chopped)

1/2 cup raw diced mushrooms (to be sautéed)

4 diced bulbs green onions (cebollitas)

6 deli slices of ham

1 tomato sliced and quartered for garnish

1/3 cup blue cheese

Prep your crust first. On a clean dry surface. Pour your flour out and cut your butter over the pile. Using your fingers, work the butter into the flour until the butter clumps are no larger than a pea in size. Create a nest out of the flour pile and pour 1/4 cup ice water into the center. Slowly work the water into the crust to form a ball. It needs to be wet enough that it can be rolled out and not fall apart. To make it easier to roll and place in a pie pan, I rolled my dough over a floured pastry cloth. The dough was rolled to a little over a millimeter thickness and turned out over a glass pie dish. Using a fork, poke the crust to create small air holes, this helps the crust cook evenly. heat your oven to 350 and start on your filling. 

Using a food processor, seperatly dice all your vegetables, approximently the same size, except for your tomato. It will be placed on the top of the pie later. Crack your eggs over a bowl and scramble them with a fork. Set the bowl aside and heat a skillet on the stove. Cube two slices of deli ham and brown in a skillet. Add the cooked ham to the bowl of beaten eggs. Next place 1/2 tablespoon of butter in skillet and sautée the onions and mushrooms. Once a golden brown, add them to the egg mixture along with your chopped broccoli. Make sure your broccoli is finely chopped. It will make the final product stick together more and less likely to fall apart. Add your salt and cheese. Give it one more good mix with the fork and pour over your prepared crust. As the eggs cook, they will expand, so make sure to leave enough room at the top of the crust to allow for that. You don’t want a pile of eggs burning at the base of your oven. As you pour it over your crust, it should be rather thick in consistancy. Very heavy in vegetable and less runny with egg. Don’t forget you still have leftover ham! Place the slices of ham in a stack. One on top of the other. Roll the ham as if it were a Cinnamon roll from one end to the other. With a two finger spacing. Cut the roll creating little ham rosettes. Press the ham rosettes into the top of the the egg mixture already inside the pie crust. In between the rosettes place slices of tomato. You don’t want the tomato inside of the egg, just on top. Adding it to the egg mixture creates too much moisture and causes unappealing bubbles in the surface. Roasting them on the surface also brings out their natural sweetness and bold flavor. 

Lastly, using a pastry brush, dip it into the quiche and brush the crust with egg. Don’t miss this part! It creates a great golden color and protects the crust from drying out, burning or cracking. 

Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes or until firm and slightly brown on top. Not cooking long enough will cause a mess, not to mention the risk of salmonella. 

Once removed from the oven, let it cool a little before cutting. Cooling will let it set and firm. 

Serve and enjoy!