The hustle and bustle of holidays are beginning to wind down. We’ve eaten, we’ve drunk, and we’ve definitely been merry. Now, we enter the days when we really want to slow down and take stock of what’s to come.
I find myself wanting simple meals made with less ingredients that are satiating but not too filling or complicated. Enter: quiche. A flaky pastry crust, a fluffy egg custard, and endless filling options is a treat for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It’s a snack or the whole dang meal. It is any and everything you want it to be.
For this recipe, there are a few key ingredients that make this quiche great. Cornmeal adds a little grit and texture to the crust and complements the creamy egg custard. Creme fraiche makes the filling so smooth while also bringing a little tang. You can usually find creme fraiche at grocery stores or specialty cheese shops, but it’s also very simple and cost effective to make at home. If you don’t have creme fraiche, you can substitute whole-fat Greek yogurt or heavy cream.
And finally, get creative with the filling! I follow a template of a seasonal vegetable plus a seasonal herb plus grated or crumbled cheese. In the summer, it might be cherry tomatoes with thyme and chevre. Winter can be roasted butternut squash plus sage and Pecorino Romano cheese — the options are endless.
You can add any meat, but cooked bacon or a nice sausage go so well. However you decide to fill it, this recipe is great for those cold, wintry days when you need a lovely dish to slow down and reset.
Cornmeal Quiche
Sarah Dodge is an Atlanta-based bread baker, pastry chef and baking instructor. She is the owner of Bread is Good, which offers bread subscriptions to the general public and wholesale baked goods to local markets and restaurants.
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