THE DISH: PEPPER & EGG QUICHE WITH PARSLEY PESTO

Ah, the research brain! What started as curiosity about the pepper and egg sandwiches popular at Italian joints in Chicago during Lent soon had me thinking about those quiche-like pepper and egg bites at Starbucks. That led to thoughts of the best quiches I’ve had, which prompted me to develop this recipe. Filled with sauteed sweet onions and green bell peppers, plus eggs, cheese, and a simple parsley pesto, this quiche is a flavorful upgrade of those historic Chicago sammies. Starting sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century, Italians living in Chicago concocted scrambled egg and grilled green pepper sandwiches to adhere to Catholic no-meat-on-Fridays rules. Those rules were relaxed by Pope Paul VI in 1966 to only include the Lenten season, which is why the sandwich is most often offered in the weeks before Easter. So yes, this quiche fits the Lenten tradition. But it’s also a great way to bypass the difficulties of individually made-to-order brunch dishes like Eggs Benedict any time of year. Please enjoy—and Happy Spring!

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CRUST

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ¼ sticks (1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp) butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/4 cup (plus more as needed) milk, ½ and ½ or water

FOR THE PARSLEY PESTO

• 1 cup fresh parsley leaves, packed
• Finely grated zest of 1 fresh lemon
• Juice from ½ fresh lemon
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• Pinch of salt
• 1 Tbsp finely chopped unsalted nuts (pecan, walnut or pine nut)
• 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano

FOR THE QUICHE

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 green bell peppers, cored, seeds and thick white portions discarded, and peppers chopped in a medium dice to make 4 cups
• 1 sweet onion, diced to make 1 cup
• 1 tsp salt
• 8 ounces white cheddar cheese, sliced into thin strips
• 7 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp flour

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METHOD

Make Crust
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Whisk flour with salt and sugar. Toss with the butter pieces. Using two knives, or your fingertips, cut butter into the flour, and work in until mixture resembles wet sand with a few small pea-sized bits of butter still in the mix. Add ¼ cup milk or water and stir with a fork until dough clumps together when squeezed in your hand. Add a bit more liquid if the dough is still crumbly. Spread work surface with plastic wrap. Place dough ball in the center and flatten into a round disk. Top with two more sheets of plastic wrap and roll pastry out into a large circle. Remove and discard the top plastic sheets. Lift pastry circle up by peeling the remaining backing plastic sheets off of the counter. Flip the pastry circle over a 9-inch, deep-dish pie plate. Ease dough into the plate. Prick bottom to eliminate air pockets. Roll crust edge under all the way around. Decoratively crimp edge. Insert a piece of parchment into the pie shell and fill with uncooked beans or pie weights. Place in oven and par bake for 15 minutes. While crust par bakes, prepare pesto.

Make Pesto
Combine all ingredients in food processor and pulse to grind. OR use an immersion blender stick and pulse to grind into pesto. Set aside.

Remove par-baked pie shell from oven
Remove lightly browned pie shell from oven and cool.

Make the filling
In a sauté pan over medium high heat, add 1 Tbsp olive oil, chopped onions and diced peppers. Sauté, stirring occasionally until vegetables are soft and cooked through. Stir in salt. Cool. Set aside. In a bowl, whisk eggs well with 2 Tbsp flour. Set aside.

Assemble and bake quiche
Spoon the cooled pepper and onion mixture into the par-baked pie shell. Cover vegetables with the strips of white cheddar. Pour beaten egg/flour mixture over the cheese, poking down into the filling to allow the eggs to seep in. Swirl 2 to 3 Tbsp of the pesto into the quiche. Place quiche in preheated 425 degrees oven and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 400 degrees and continue baking for 20 to 25 minutes until crust is deep golden brown and filling has cooked firm. (Note: Poke through the crust that forms on top of the quiche to ensure eggs are cooked.) Remove quiche from oven. Allow to rest for 10 minutes. Slice and serve with salad.