Make Ahead

Zucchini Ribbon Quiche with Roasted Grape Tomatoes

by:
July  1, 2010
4.3
3 Ratings
  • Serves 6
Author Notes

This recipe has several inspirations, including the quiche from the Tartine Bakery in San Francisco. It is a mile high, with ribbons of greens layered within. To replicate it more easily at home, I’ve adapted a reliable and delicious Better Homes and Gardens recipe and studded it with basil-flecked home-made ricotta cheese (from melissav’s white pizza recipe). You can do this with a crust, but I chose not to. Instead, I layered zucchini ribbons around the sides. Happily, the ribbons also weave through each custardy slice in a beautiful fashion, much like the inspirational quiche from Tartine. —monkeymom

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Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 - 2 medium zucchini, about 2 inches in diameter
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • ½ tsp thyme leaves, chopped.
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 4 beaten eggs
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ cups ricotta cheese, well drained (see headnote above, but store-bought is also fine)
  • zest from ½ a lemon
  • 2 Tbsp chopped basil
  • 3 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Slice zucchini lengthwise into thin strips. Your ribbons don’t have to be perfect for this, I cut mine with just a chef’s knife. You can also use a mandoline or a vegetable peeler.
  3. Heat olive oil on medium high heat. Add diced onion, thyme, a pinch of pepper, and two big pinches of salt. Cook until onions are translucent, soft, and slightly browned. Add garlic and sauté briefly. Take off heat and cool.
  4. Mix together eggs, milk, 1 tsp of salt, and flour. Add cooled onions. Mix and set aside.
  5. Mix together ricotta, basil, salt, and parmesan. Taste and add more salt, pepper, lemon zest, or parmesan to taste.
  6. Drop 1 Tbsp of olive oil into a 9 inch round baking pan and coat the pan. Then, use excess oil to coat slices of zucchini as you line the outer rim. You can use thicker and longer slices of zucchini or layer thin slices. Add egg mixture. Then, drop spoonfuls of ricotta mixture into the egg mixture. Finally, weave remaining zucchini slices through the egg mixture in swirly patterns. Tuck some in at different angles so when you slice the quiche, you get some layered throughout. You might not need all of the zucchini, depending on how big they were. Sprinkle a little chopped basil and parmesan on top.
  7. Bake at 350 degrees for 30--40 minutes until egg is set. The quiche shouldn’t be sloshy, just slightly wiggly. Cool quiche for at least 10 minutes.
  8. When quiche has about 10 minutes of cooking time left, toss tomatoes with oil and a generous sprinkling of salt. Bake 10-15 minutes while quiche is baking and cooling.
  9. Serve a slice of quiche with roasted tomatoes, some freshly cut basil and a sprinkling of parmesan.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

Recipe by: monkeymom

My favorite distraction is to cook. Though science and cooking/baking have a lot in common, I'm finding that each allows me to enjoy very different parts of my life. Cooking connects me with my heritage, my family, friends, and community. I'm really enjoying learning from the food52 community, who expose me to different ingredients and new ways to cook.

36 Reviews

foodskop December 28, 2011
Beautiful monkeymom! I'm going to try this!
hardlikearmour December 10, 2010
This looks like a piece of art!
Vermeer_Groupie July 12, 2010
I have this in the oven right now. I can't wait to try it! It already smells great and I love the basil-ricotta mixture!
monkeymom July 8, 2010
Oh, the springform pan is a great idea! Julienned zukes also sound terrific. I have to say that I'm also going to fiddle with this more as well. I really liked how this combo for a crustless quiche turned out. Thanks very much dymnyno for workshopping this one with me!
dymnyno July 7, 2010
I made this again using a springform pan. This allows the zucchini crust to show off. I mixed the egg and milk mixture and the cheese, basil mixture and then I mixed them together. It worked out ok. I think that it made the overall texture a little bit firmer. I (using my new gadget) julienned a zuke and sauteed that and then topped the quiche with an extravagant mixture of the two. It looked gorgeous!!
dymnyno July 7, 2010
I meant a mixture of julienned zuccinin and chopped basil.
cheese1227 July 7, 2010
That is a lovely recipe and a georgous picture.
monkeymom July 8, 2010
Thanks cheese1227! I think zukes can vary in water content so I'm going to keep testing it out more this summer!
ody July 4, 2010
If only I'd thought more about the $2 pan...I tried this tonight and although the flavor was lovely the texture was not. I used a corningware-type baking dish (automatic instinct for a crustless quiche, though of course it makes no sense for a zucchini crust). I think my second mistake was trying to use too much zucchini (just 1.5, but they were medium-sized). Sigh. I look forward to giving it another try, this time in a cake pan!
monkeymom July 4, 2010
I'm sorry to hear about that. But I'm glad you brought it up....Perhaps only one zucchini per quiche is a good place to start for others. I'll try it in my 9 in metal cake pan when I get home again. Thanks for the feedback!
ody July 25, 2010
I finally got around to trying the recipe in a cake pan, and it made all the difference! The custard set perfectly: delicate, silky, so delicious. I managed to fit most of a very large zucchini in there, so it really is the pan that makes the difference...
dymnyno July 3, 2010
I am out to harvest a few zukes....I love this recipe!! Smitten Kitchen posted one that is a lot like yours with a gorgeous crust....I like the crustfree dietwise a lot better.
monkeymom July 4, 2010
I love smitten kitchen. I've also chased the elusive Keller quiche...it is frustrating. For this week's theme I kept thinking of zucchini tarts and crusty things but I just couldn't bring myself to test buttery crusty things in Hawaii. Too much bread making this year!
monkeymom July 4, 2010
ps, please let me know how yours turns out as ody's go at it in the corning was not so great...
dymnyno July 5, 2010
I used a deep cake pan...it turned out very creamy...delicious...I like the use of the zucchini as crust. I think that next time I will salt the zucchini and squeeze as much moisture as I can to make the quiche more solid. Thank god for this contest...I may have planted too many zukes again this year!
Sagegreen July 2, 2010
Love your use of zucchini peel in place of crust! Gorgeous, too.
monkeymom July 2, 2010
Thanks Sagegreen!
slulibby July 2, 2010
beautiful
monkeymom July 2, 2010
Thanks so much! I'm all over your wedding fool!
lapadia July 2, 2010
LOVELY!!
monkeymom July 2, 2010
Thank you for your comment! Heal quickly!
ody July 2, 2010
This looks amazing---I love the basil ricotta idea and the ribbons look like a great way to keep the zucchini from watering everything down---I can't wait to try it!
monkeymom July 2, 2010
I had debated salting the zucchini but did not. Was pleasantly surprised it didn't release water at all (tested it twice to make sure). Basil ricotta is from our lasagna recipe - yum!
drbabs July 1, 2010
I love crustless quiches--can't wait to make this--great recipe!
monkeymom July 2, 2010
Me too! Thanks and let me know how it turns out.
Jennifer A. July 1, 2010
lovely! I like that you use milk instead of cream.
monkeymom July 2, 2010
Thanks Jennifer Ann! I've done this BH&G recipe with either whole or nonfat milk and it still turns out great! I accidently used nonfat milk instead of whole for the ricotta and it also still was great too (no sub for the heavy cream though!).
MrsWheelbarrow July 1, 2010
Wow. That is seriously pretty. I want to have a brunch so I can serve this beauty. Thanks, Monkeymom.
monkeymom July 2, 2010
Please let me know how it turns out for you MrsW. I'm on vacation and bought this 2 buck cake pan which turned out ot work well for this recipe.
This looks so good. And I love the look of the zucchini strips!
monkeymom July 2, 2010
Thanks ChezSuzanne! I admit that the crust was partly inspired by your beautiful timbale!
I love the idea! And I think I'm just going to have to make this lovely dish over the holiday weekend. Hope you're enjoying your vacation!
AntoniaJames July 1, 2010
Mmmm, gorgeous! Sounds wonderfully tasty, too. Love it. ;o)
monkeymom July 2, 2010
Thanks so much AntoniaJames! The recipe is very adaptable to different cheeses and additions.
dymnyno July 1, 2010
This sounds inspirational!!
monkeymom July 1, 2010
Thanks dymnyno! This site is very inspiring...