Recipes
Erin Jeanne McDowell's Cobb Quiche
Makes one 9-inch quiche
My mom always says she is shocked at how many eggs I go through. It’s not just the constant stream of cookies and cakes that are always being baked up in my kitchen—it’s also the fact that I love to eat eggs. In the morning, I poach, boil, or fry myself an egg or two to get the day started. On busy days, my husband sometimes makes me an omelet or a scramble for lunch. I often make us quiche for dinner (or at almost any time of day), with a simple salad alongside. This quiche was designed to be an all-in-one situation, with the crisp salad served right on top of it. For even more quiche, check out the Wee Quiches on page 296, Croissant Breakfast Pie (page 241), and my ideas for creating your own variations on quiche on page 331.
Image Credits
Photo by Mark Weinberg
Ingredients
For the all-buttah pie dough
- 151 grams/1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 gram/¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 113 grams/4 ounces/8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch/13 millimeter cubes
- 57 grams/¼ cup ice water, plus more if needed
For the quiche
- One 9-inch/23 centimeter pie crust made with All-Buttah Pie Dough
- 112 grams/1 cup (not packed) finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 215 grams/1½ cups diced cooked chicken
- 100 grams/1 cup finely chopped cooked bacon
- 140 grams/5 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
- 40 grams/4 scallions, thinly sliced
- 340 grams/6 large eggs
- 230 grams/1 cup whole milk
- 2 grams/½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 grams/½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
for the salad
- 45 grams/3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 15 grams/1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 5 grams/1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 215 grams/1 large avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, and diced
- Fresh lemon juice for the avocado
- 226 grams/1½ cups quartered cherry tomatoes
- 10 grams/¼ cup finely minced fresh chives
- 226 grams/8 ounces romaine lettuce, chopped (about 1 medium head)
Method
- For the All-Buttah Pie Dough: In a medium bowl, whisk the flour and salt to combine. Add the cold butter cubes and toss well, separating the cubes and ensuring that they are fully coated in flour. Use your hands or a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour by pressing the pieces between your fingers, flattening the cubes into big shards (you can also do this by gently pulsing the ingredients in the food processor). As you work, continue to toss the butter with the flour, recoating the shingled pieces. Continue to mix in the fat to the desired level, depending on the final texture you want.
- Make a well in the center of the flour mixture (if using a food processor, transfer the flour mixture to a medium bowl at this point). Add the ice water to the well and toss with your hands to mix the flour and water together (this will start to combine them without creating too much gluten). As the flour begins to become hydrated, you can switch to more of a gentle kneading motion. Then continue lightly kneading the dough, adding more water about 15 grams/1 tablespoon at a time as necessary, until it is properly hydrated: It should be uniformly combined and hold together easily, but it won’t look totally smooth. Dough that is too dry may have sort of a “dusty” appearance or pockets of flour; it will be crumbly and won’t hold together. Dough that is too wet will feel sticky or tacky.
- Turn the dough out and form it into an even disk (if you are multiplying the recipe to make several crusts, divide the dough appropriately). Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (and up to 2 days) before using.
- This dough is best baked at 400 to 425°F/205 to 220°C. Roll out as directed on and transfer to a 9-inch/23-centimeter pie plate (this makes enough for a standard pie plate, with some excess dough to be trimmed away, or a deep-dish pie plate, with little to no scrap dough). Parbake, blind-bake or fill and bake as directed.
- For the Cobb Quiche: Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C with a rack in the bottom; if you have a baking steel or pizza stone, place it on the rack.
- Place the cooled pie crust (still in the pan) on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Spread 56 grams/½ cup of the grated Parmesan evenly over the base of the crust. Arrange the chicken and bacon in an even layer on top of the Parmesan. Crumble the blue cheese over the top and sprinkle the scallions evenly over the cheese.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper until well combined. Carefully pour the custard over the filling ingredients in the crust. Sprinkle the remaining 56 grams/½ cup Parmesan evenly over the top.
- Transfer the pie to the oven and bake until the custard appears set around the edges but is still slightly jiggly in the center, 30 to 35 minutes. If you’d like, turn on the broiler and broil the quiche for 1 to 3 minutes, to brown the top. Cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving warm, or cool completely before serving.
- For the salad: Just before serving, make the salad: In a jar, combine the oil, vinegar, and mustard. Seal the jar and shake the mixture well until thick and combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- In a large bowl, toss the avocado with a little lemon juice to coat. Add the tomatoes and chives and toss to combine. Add the romaine. Shake the dressing again, drizzle it over the salad, and toss well.
- Serve slices of the quiche with the salad alongside, or pile the salad on top of the quiche before slicing (messy, but fun).
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Make Ahead and Storage
The crust can be parbaked up to 24 hours ahead. The quiche is best eaten the same day it’s made, but it can be held for up to 24 hours refrigerated (once cool). Store leftovers in the refrigerator, wrapped in plastic wrap.
Divider
Excerpted from Savory Baking: Recipes for Breakfast, Dinner, and Everything in Between © 2022 by Erin Jeanne McDowell. Reproduced by permission of Harvest, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.Links
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