Basic Quiche — Something Steady to Come Home To

Vows. I have been working on my vows. Tyler says he has his already, he wrote them in one sitting the week after we got engaged and has been refining them since. I believe that. He does things thoroughly when he decides to do them.

Mine are harder. Not because I do not know what I want to say but because I have too much to say and all of it is large. I want to say something about the fact that I have lived my whole life trying to believe I deserved a person like him and this is the day I stop trying and start knowing. But I do not know how to say that without it sounding like a burden on him, which it is not. He is not carrying my history. He is just standing beside it with me.

I want to say something about food. How I have always shown love with food and now I can show it to him every day. That feels right. That feels like a vow I can keep without effort because it is already what I do.

Made collard greens and ham Sunday at Gloria. Long cook, the way it should be. You put the greens in early and let them go for two hours and they come out silky and rich and nothing like what they started as. A long cook changes something completely. I have been in the long cook for twenty-seven years. Coming out the other side of it now. Coming out silky and right.

There is something about a week of writing vows and slow-cooking greens at Gloria that leaves you wanting food with no drama in it — food that just holds together and asks nothing of you. That’s where this quiche comes in. I’ve made it more times than I can count in the in-between moments, the Tuesday nights and quiet Sunday mornings when I need something steady under my hands. It isn’t a big dish. It doesn’t transform the way collard greens do in a long cook. But it shows up every time, and right now, that feels like exactly the right kind of recipe to share.

Basic Quiche

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 1 hr | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust (store-bought or homemade)
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half or heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Gruyère or Swiss cheese
• 1/2 cup cooked ham or bacon, roughly chopped (optional)
• 2 tbsp fresh chives or flat-leaf parsley, chopped (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Fit the pie crust into a 9-inch pie dish and crimp the edges. Prick the bottom a few times with a fork.
2. Blind bake the crust. Line the crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove the weights and parchment and bake another 5 minutes until the bottom looks dry. Remove from the oven.
3. Make the custard. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, salt, pepper, and nutmeg until fully combined and smooth.
4. Layer the fillings. Scatter the shredded cheese evenly across the bottom of the par-baked crust. Add the ham or bacon if using, then pour the egg custard over the top. Sprinkle herbs over the surface.
5. Bake. Bake at 375°F for 35 to 40 minutes, until the center is just set — it should have a very slight wobble when you gently shake the pan. The top will be lightly golden.
6. Rest before slicing. Let the quiche rest on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before cutting. This lets the custard finish setting so slices hold their shape cleanly.
7. Serve. Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold. Keeps covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and reheats well in a low oven.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 345 | Protein: 14g | Fat: 25g | Carbs: 17g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 410mg