Backyard Quiche by The Modern Proper

This guest post comes from Natalie and Holly over at The Modern Proper. Their mission is to change the way people think about hospitality, one delicious recipe at a time — and in our series with them, we’re excited to share recipes that will nourish you, your family, and loved ones alike. Here, they’re sharing a family-friendly recipe that works for any meal, any occasion, and with any combination of produce sitting in your fridge. 

When I was a kid, and an adult ordered quiche, I always thought it sounded so boring. “I’ll have the quiche” (imagine fancy adult-ish sounding voice). “Blah!” I’d think. Well, turns out the joke was on me, because when I grew up and realized that quiche is just a codename for “eggs, flaky crust, and everything else good in the world.”

Older, wiser, and three kids deep, I now understand the beauty of a quiche. Easy to prepare, hand-pressed crust and fresh eggs are all that’s required to whip it up. And that alone would make a meal fit for a king, but add in seasonal produce and some great, salty cheese, and magic happens. Best of all, it passes all my requirements for a family meal: healthy, simple, delicious, and makes great leftovers.

We started calling this recipe the “backyard quiche” because its ingredients were entirely determined by whatever was growing in the garden at the time. This mixture has since become one of our family’s favorites. We’ve been known to eat it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner and find it equally satisfying any time of day.

So, if you were like me and thought quiche was for fancy ladies who drank tea—think again. Coffee-drinking, messy-haired mamas, and runny-nosed kids can eat it, too!

Backyard Quiche

Ingredients 

• 1 small sweet onion, halved 

• 1 tbsp butter 

• 1 tsp brown sugar 

• 6 large eggs 

• ¾ cup heavy cream 

• 1 tsp salt 

• ½ tsp fresh ground black pepper 

• 3 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese 

• 1 medium heirloom tomato, plus more cherry tomatoes halved for topping 

• 2 garlic cloves, minced 

• 1 handful of basil leaves, thinly sliced 

• 1 recipe of your favorite pie crust, homemade or store-bought 

Instructions 

1. Melt butter in a small frying pan over medium-low heat until foaming. 

2. Add the onions and sugar, let them cook, stirring occasionally, until they are deep golden brown and caramelized, about 40 minutes. 

3. Add garlic to the pan and let it cook 5 minutes longer. 

4. Season well with salt and pepper, remove from the pan, and let cool. 

5. Preheat oven to 375°F 

6. Combine eggs, cream, salt and pepper in a food processor or blender. Blend the ingredients for 1 minute. 

7. Layer the tomatoes, cheese, and basil in the bottom of the crust-lined quiche pan. 

8. Evenly disperse onion and garlic over the top, then pour the egg mixture on top of that.

9. Bake for 35-45 minutes until the egg mixture is set. Cut into 8 wedges.