Crustless Corn Quiche
Here's a fun one for pulling together several summer favorites into one savory dish that is sure to please.
A
long time ago, my mom shared with me an old recipe for a "crustless
corn quiche". It was pretty good, but it lacked something for me. So, I
decided to bump it up a notch.
For starters, it
needed a bit of salty goodness from the addition of a bit of meat.
Next, I felt it could use a bit of spicing to make it a bit more
interesting.
After quite some experimenting, I
arrived at one of my favorite summer dishes. It marries fresh summer
corn with poblano peppers, onions, and one of my favorite Tex-Mex
flavorings - chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. I really think the
chipotles are one of the unsung heroes of the kitchen. A can of them
goes for about a buck at most supermarkets, and they can last in the
fridge nearly forever. Chipotles are smoked jalapeño peppers, and the
adobo sauce is a great spicy sauce that packages them perfectly.
Recently,
it occurred to me that most of the ingredients of this recipe are
available right up the road from us at Nalls Produce. I love the
addition of the cream and cheese from Trickling Springs along with the
fresh organic eggs from Pennsylvania -- all available at Nalls.
Talk about a dish with all local, fresh, and natural ingredients!
Now,
combine that with the fact that this entire meal can be cooked in a
single pan. I like to use my trusty 12" cast iron skillet for making the
dish, but you can also make it in just about any similarly sized dish.
The only other dish used is a mixing bowl.
It
is easy to make and tastes fabulous. If you want to notch up your game a
level or two, grill the ears of corn on your grill and use heavy cream
in lieu of the half-and-half I generally use. The smokiness of the corn
will be a fabulous complement to the dish, and the heavy cream is a
wonderful treat for those special occasion dishes.
Enjoy! Oh, and if you make improvements to my recipe, I'd love to hear from you. I'm always open to cool new ideas.
Cheers,
Ken
Crustless Corn Quiche
Ingredients
4 ears fresh corn, cooked, husked and kernels cut off (about 3 cups) N1 medium onion, finely chopped N
1/2 to 1 lb. bacon, chopped
1 poblano pepper, finely chopped N
2 chipotle chile pepper in adobo sauce, finely chopped
1 tablespoon Madam Pele's Heat or Emeril's Essence
1 tablespoon butter N
3 eggs N
2 cups light cream (half and half is great, or even heavy cream if you want to step it up a bit) N
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon chile powder
1 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons parsley, dried, or 1/4 cup fresh N
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 cups sharp Cheddar cheese N
Directions
1. Cook the corn. Steamed, boiled, or grilled is great. This can be done in advance. It's also a great use for leftover ears of corn after a big meal.
2. Preheat oven 375F degrees.
3. Sauté the bacon (Virginia country ham also works great here), browning it well, and then mix in the onions, poblano, and chopped chipotle. Continue to sauté on medium to medium-high, until the onions are well caramelized, about 15-20 minutes. If the meat is lean, you may want to add a bit of butter or olive oil when adding the onions. Otherwise, use the pan drippings from the meat. When the mix is well caramelized, set the cast iron skillet aside to cool. Add in the Madam Pele's Heat or Emeril's Essence to the mixture, if desired.
4. Meanwhile, in large mixing bowl beat eggs until fluffy, then add cream, chile powder, and flour and mix together.
5. Add the corn, salt, pepper, parsley, and 1-1/2 cups of cheddar cheese. Mix (or even blend) well.
6. Pour the mix into the cast iron skillet with the meat/onion mix. Sprinkle the top with the rest of the cheddar cheese. Optionally put a bit of paprika in the cheese on top as well.
7. Bake at 375F degrees for about 35 - 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for about 10 minutes. Cut and serve.
