LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Chicken quiche blends cultures and flavors


Photo Susie Iventosch

Mexico meets France with this savory chicken quiche. It's made with tender shredded chicken, onions, tomatoes, poblano and jalapeno peppers, chili lime seasoning and grated cheese. The combination of flavors is so satisfying. Baked into a flaky, buttery crust, it's the quintessential comfort food! It's so delicious, and you can make it ahead and freeze it, so you have a quick meal for weekend guests or mid-week dinners! While I'm at, I often make two - one for now and one for later!

You can really use any cheese that you like, and if poblanos are too hot for you, substitute Ortega (Anaheim) chilies for a mild alternative. I also love Trader Joe's Chili Lime Seasoning, but Tajin works well in this recipe too.

Regardless of what kind of filling you want in your quiche, the formula is pretty much the same for the custard. We use three large eggs and 1 1/2 cups of half & half, but if you have a larger pie dish, just remember to use 1/2 cup of the liquid for every egg. We love a lot of filling, too, and so we use about 3 cups all together between the veggies and meats, plus 1 1/2 cups of grated cheese.

If you're in a hurry, you can use a pre-made crust or a box mix crust, but if you love a homemade crust for your quiche, it's best to partially pre-bake (blind bake) the pie crust before filling it and baking the whole dish. If you don't have pie weights or dried beans, use whatever you can to weigh down the crust. The main reason for this is so the empty shell doesn't collapse.

Also, be sure to poke lots of holes in the crust before laying the foil and weights over the raw crust. These help the air escape so big air pockets won't form in your pie shell. You can see that we were all out of pie weights and dried beans, so I went to my husband's tool shelf and got some nice heavy washers! They were magic!

This recipe makes enough dough for your 9-inch pie crust plus a smaller pie crust. Or you can use any extra dough for cinnamon sugar roll ups, for patching your crust edging, or make a smaller pie shell and freeze it for another time!

Ingredients

Flaky Buttery Crust

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

6 oz. unsalted butter, chilled and cut into tiny pieces

2 tsp. cider vinegar

1/2 cup ice water

Mexican Chicken Filling

2 cups cooked and shredded chicken breast

1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped (I like to lightly sauté the onion in the olive oil until translucent ahead of time, but you can use raw onions if you are short on time.)

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 poblano pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced

1 large tomato, seeds removed and coarsely chopped

3/4 cup Pepper Jack cheese, grated

3/4 cup mixed Mexican grated cheese or can also use sharp cheddar in place of mixed Mexican cheese

Egg and Cream Custard

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups half & half or milk

1 tsp. Trader Joe's Chili Lime Seasoning or Tajin

1/2 tsp. lemon pepper

Directions

Pie Crust

Preheat oven to 350 F. Get your 9-inch pie dish ready for action!

Stir flour and salt together in a large bowl. Cut butter into the dries using a pastry cutter or cold fingertips until butter is the size of small peas.

Sprinkle cider vinegar over the butter-flour mixture and stir with a fork. Slowly add ice water (don't get ice into the crust mixture) until the dough can be gathered together. Add water slowly, so you don't get it too wet.

Divide dough into a larger and a smaller ball. On a large cutting board or pastry cloth, roll the larger ball into a circle about 14-15 inches in diameter, using extra flour as you need it to keep the dough from sticking to the board. Save the smaller dough ball for patching the crust edges or for making cinnamon sugar roll ups. Or you can make a smaller pie shell and freeze it for another time.

Fold the dough into quarters and then transfer it to a 9-inch pie dish. Open the dough back up to a full circle and roll and crimp the pie edges to a pretty, finished look. I usually flute the edge, but you can also use a fork or any method you like. Poke holes all along the bottom and sides of the pie shell with a fork.

Lay a piece of foil in the center of the pie crust and put pie weights, or dry beans evenly over the foil. Partially bake the pie crust for 10-15 minutes. Then, remove foil and weights and continue to bake for another 10 minutes, or just until the crust is beginning to brown. Remove from oven and cool.

Quiche Filling and Custard

Beat eggs, half & half, chili-lime seasoning, and lemon pepper together. Set aside.

Layer the chicken, poblanos, jalapenos, onions, tomatoes, and the Pepper Jack cheese in the bottom of the pre-baked shell. Pour custard over the top and then sprinkle the mixed Mexican cheese over the top.

Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the center is mostly set, but still a tiny bit jiggly.

When baked, remove from oven, and allow to set up for approximately 25 minutes before serving.

Notes

This quiche freezes very well and if you want to make it ahead of time it's super easy to reheat and serve. Be sure to allow quiche to cool completely and then wrap it in plastic wrap. Cover the plastic wrap with foil and place in the freezer.

When you're ready to serve, you can move the quiche from the freezer to the refrigerator the day before. Reheat in a 350 F oven for about 30 minutes or until heated all the way through.