{"id":873,"date":"2019-07-30T22:35:50","date_gmt":"2019-07-30T22:35:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theeleganteconomist.com\/?p=873"},"modified":"2019-08-02T23:10:19","modified_gmt":"2019-08-02T23:10:19","slug":"zaatar-and-roasted-tomato-quiche","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theeleganteconomist.com\/?p=873","title":{"rendered":"Za’atar and Roasted Tomato Quiche"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I was recently invited to a potluck brunch, and as a person who doesn’t typically eat breakfast (coffee is my breakfast most days) I was a bit stuck. While I love<\/em> traditional Middle Eastern breakfasts – like ful medames, or a plate of fresh vegetables, bread<\/a>, and labneh<\/a>, or a big skillet of shakshouka, I have never really been partial to traditional western breakfast foods, particularly the sweet stuff. Hesitant to bring a bowl of ful with me (and having to explain what it was), I settled on quiche. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eyeing my fruit bowl, I noticed a lingering gigantic tub of cherry tomatoes I’d bought at Costco and settled on making some roasted tomatoes. Roasted tomatoes are perfect for quiche, because they have a lot of flavour, and because the moisture has been removed from them – so they won’t make the filling a watery mess. If you don’t have the time to roast a tray of cherry tomatoes for two hours, you can also use a jar of sun dried tomatoes – they have a similar (though not identical) flavour profile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sprinkled with za’atar and ready to roast. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Also, don’t be like me – I neglected to pre-bake my pie crust as I was in a bit of a rush and so the crust (while lovely and flaky) wasn’t as golden brown as I’d have liked. You’ll definitely want to pre-bake your pie crust until lightly golden (around 8 minutes) before filling. I used a rectangular <\/a>tart tin<\/a>, but you can use a round one<\/a> and it will work just as well – it may just need a couple of extra minutes to set in the center. The removable bottom is key, though – so I’d highly recommend purchasing one if you don’t already own one. If you don’t own pie weights<\/a> you can simply place some parchment in the tart tin with your crust and fill with dried beans or lentils, or rice. You can still cook and eat said beans \/ rice after – so it’s not a waste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Za’atar<\/a> is an essential Levantine breakfast herb blend, so I added it liberally to the quiche filling and the combination of the earthy za’atar and the bright, intense roasted tomatoes is a perfect combination. My egg-hating husband even compared the quiche favourably to pizza. The ratio of eggs to dairy (1 egg per 1\/2 cup of dairy) means a creamy custard inside without a strong egg flavour, so even those who aren’t crazy about eggs will like this quiche. I’ve included instructions for all aspects of the quiche below, including the delightful roasted tomatoes – which are also amazing on pasta (add a little pesto and a handful of these to some good pasta and you have a delicious meal). <\/p>\n\n\n\n