Last Updated on April 12, 2021
Quiche is the ideal brunch food. Yes, better than French toast, cinnamon rolls, and even any combination of fried eggs and cheeseburgers.
It is a delicious, easy-to-make brunch dish that is a veritable opera of European appropriation.
Quiche has a pretty extensive history, with recorded dishes going back to the 12th century. Although back then, it went under a different name.
The History of Quiche
Quiche is actually believed to have originated in Germany. The word ‘quiche’ itself comes from the German word for cake, ‘Kuchen.’
According to foodreference.com, the savory breakfast food was first concocted in the medieval German kingdom of Lotharingia, which stretched across France, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands. The area where the dish is believed to have derived was called Lothringen in German— it was a German kingdom at the time—but was later annexed by France and renamed Lorraine.
According to history, the original ‘quiche Lorraine’—as it is called—was “an open pie with a filling consisting of an egg and cream custard with smoked bacon.” Over time, cheese was added to the dish that we now call quiche Lorraine.
As a brunch food, the quiche, or breakfast pie, gained popularity in France over a long period of time; however, it really grew in esteem in the US during the 80’s and 90’s, as a way to prepare breakfast ahead of time. As an easy-to-make “breakfast casserole,” it became a suburban cuisine staple; sometimes.
Quiche even appeared at holidays, as well as, strangely, cocktail parties and other gatherings.
Differences Between Quiches and Frittatas
We are most familiar with quiche as a brunch food in pie form.
And, while both pie-like, a quiche is also not a frittata, just to set the record straight. A frittata is an Italian egg dish—this is also quite popular as a brunch dish—similar to an omelet. It is actually, more of a crustless quiche that combines scrambled eggs, a meat—like ham or bacon—and some vegetables.
On the opposite side of the breakfast food equation is the dutch baby, which is a popover or bread pudding that can be filled with fruits or maple syrup. Basically, like a frittata is a quiche without a crust, a dutch baby is like a quiche without the egg filling.
Growing a Fondness for Quiche
Knowledge of the dish’s rich history is not where the story ends for ButcherBox’s Chef Yankel.
“Personally, I have a love/hate relationship with eggs,” Chef Yankel says.
“I was an egg cook for some time at the former Eastern Standard, working brunch two days a week. During each shift, I would cook at least 150 omelets to order and also had to do 200 to 300 orders of scrambled and fried eggs as well,” he explains. “I’d end each shift covered in eggs.”
And for Yankel and his team, quiche became the balm. “Quiche became one of those pre-made items we could serve to take some of the heat off my station.”
“Quiche is a set-it-and-forget-it kind of dish, really simple to put together, and easy to cook well,” said Chef Yankel. “It has a great shelf life in the fridge and is totally customizable in terms of what you want to flavor it with, it is really one of the best brunch ideas.”
A Quick Bacon and Swiss Quiche Recipe
The crust and the filling can be made the night before a brunch or cooked the night before and reheated.
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 egg
- 6 slices ButcherBox Bacon diced into ½ pieces
- 3 eggs
- 1½ cup heavy cream (Whole milk can be an alternative, see below.)
- 1 teaspoon chopped sage
- ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup Swiss cheese grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
Crust
- In food processor, pulse to combine salt and flour. Add coconut oil and egg and pulse to form ball.
- Press dough into 9.5” pie dish and bake 8 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned, set aside.
Filling
- Sauté bacon until crispy, drain, pat dry and sprinkle on bottom of quiche crust. Sprinkle Swiss cheese on top of the bacon.
- Whisk together remaining ingredients and pour into quiche crust.
- Bake on middle rack of oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown and set.
- Let rest 20 more minutes before slicing and serving. Happy eating!
Notes
Dennis Keohane is the Editorial Director for ButcherBox.
