Eggplant Quiche

Well…this is delicious! This recipe came to me in an email, there are 2 recipes in that email & I have made them both. This is the first one that I made

The recipe came to me by way of the website HAARETZ  Here is a link to the recipe on that site, I have changed a couple of things from the original

The eggplant Quiche or Pashtida, a savoury pie…is different that the typical quiches I have made before. Even if you are not sure if you like eggplant…I bet you might just love this! It was all I could do to try not to eat most of it at one time!

Cubed eggplant, cheeses, eggs on top of a shortbread type of crust… so good!

 

Here is the recipe  This recipe serves 8 people

Ingredients

For the filling

2 eggplants

kosher salt or regular salt is fine if you do not have kosher salt

1 onion

2 tbsp oil, to cook the onion & eggplant in

1/2 cup heavy cream *** I used a non-fat creamer

6 oz shredded old/sharp cheddar cheese *** the original recipe called for 3 oz Gruyère cheese & 3 oz of goat cheese …but they did give the option of using aged cheddar so I used the cheddar cheese since I do not like goat cheese

2 tbsp flour

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp salt

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, to sprinkle on top before baking

olive oil for drizzling

For the crust 

2 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup olive oil

1 egg

Method

Preheat oven to 350f

Grease an 8 x 12 inch baking dish

1. Prepare the eggplant… wash & dry it. Peel it in stripes, like a zebra, & dice the eggplants into 1 inch cubes
2. Put the eggplant into a colander, sprinkle with kosher salt & toss
3. Set this aside with the colander in the sink or over a bowl to catch the liquid that is going to be released by the eggplant
4. Let the eggplant sit for 30 minutes or longer
5. After that time, rinse the eggplant & pat dry! I actually used my sald spinner to dry the eggplant..it worked great
6. Set aside
7. Meanwhile, while the eggplant is ‘sitting’ you can prepare the rest of the ingredients
8. Dice the onion & set aside
9. Heat the oil in a large skillet
10. Sauté the diced onion until it is golden brown
11. Add the eggplant, stir to combine with the onion
12. Cook the eggplant/onion mixture until the eggplant is soft & nicely browned. Stir often so that it doesn’t stick to the pan..& don’t have the heat too
13. Prepare the crust while the eggplant is cooking … I found the g=crust a bit crumbly but I suppose that is how it is…
14. In the bowl of your food processor, put in the flour, baking powder & salt, mix briefly
15. Add the olive oil & egg & process until a soft dough forms
16. Put this into the prepared baking dish & press it in evenly, prick it all over with a fork & set this aside
17. When the eggplant is cooked let it cool briefly…the recipe suggests 5 minutes
18. Put the eggplant into a large bowl. Add the cream, cheese, flour, pepper, salt & mix well.
19. Add the 2 beaten eggs, mix well & make sure all of the ingredients are well combined
20. Pour this eggplant mixture on top of the prepared crust
21. Sprinkle with the parmesan cheese
22. Drizzle with the olive oil
23. Bake in the preheated oven for about an hour….the recipe suggests baking for 50 minutes than putting under the broiler for a minute or two to brown the top, but I like my food nice & brown & crispy, so I just baked it until it was how I like it! It took a bit longer then an hour
24. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving

Enjoy!