Ratatouille & Sausage Quiche
I love this time of the year! The mornings and evenings have a cool crisp to the air and we can feel a touch of fall creeping in. The farm is abundant with late summer crops and our laying hens have started to produce more eggs now that the weather isn’t so darn hot. It’s mid September and this is usually the time of the year when I’m busting out ratatouille weekly in the kitchen. But for some weird reason, I haven’t made it yet this year. That changed last night but with a little twist! I’ve never thought to make a ratatouille dish into a quiche but I’m not sure why because it’s absolutely divine! And though this isn’t exactly traditional- a typical ratatouille recipe has you sauté all the vegetables separately, then combine them. However, that seemed a little too time consuming for a quiche where you’re already making a crust so I decided to cut a few corners. I made a sauce on the stove with the peppers, onions and tomatoes, and roasted the eggplant and zucchini together in the oven. Then everything is mixed together with the eggs, milk and cheese and poured into the crust. The result is a wonderfully flavorful. We added sausage to the stovetop (before sautéing the veggies) but I imagine this quiche would be delicious served vegetarian as well. There are still quite a few steps in the directions but please don’t let that deter you. This comes together so beautifully and is worth all the chopping and rolling out of dough!
Please note that if you make my crust recipe you do have to plan a day in advance as the crust is soaked in yogurt and butter overnight to help make it more digestable and break down the phytic acid in the flour. Of course, feel free to make your own go-to crust if you’ve got one too! The filling will work just fine with another type of crust.
I hope you all enjoy this late summer ratatouille quiche!
Ratatouille & Sausage Quiche
Prep Time: 25 minutes Cook Time: 1 hour Serves: 4-6 as a side
Crust:- 1/2 cup plain whole milk yogurt
- 1 /2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup whole spelt flour or wheat flour
- 3/4 cup millet flour (or more spelt flour)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- unbleached white flour for rolling
- 1 medium-sized eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch chunks (about 1 pound)
- 2 small zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch chunks (about 1 pound)
- 5 Tablespoons cooking fat of choice (oil, butter, ghee) divided
- fat pinch of salt
- 1/2 pound Italian pork sausage
- 1-2 Tablespoons cooking fat
- 1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
- 1 large bell pepper, finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1 pint of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- fresh dill for serving
Preparation
- The night before you plan on making your pot pie, prepare the dough. Cream together the yogurt and butter. Blend in the flour and salt. Cover with a dish towel and leave in a warm spot in your kitchen for 12-24 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Prepare the filling by tossing the eggplant and zucchini with 2 Tablespoons of cooking fat (oil, butter or ghee) and a fat pinch of salt. Spread veggies onto a baking sheet in a single layer (do not crowd them) and roast for about 20 minutes, tossing the veggies halfway through cooking. Remove from the oven and reduce the heat to 350F.
- On a lightly flowered work surface roll out the dough into approximately a 12-inch round and then press it into a lightly greased 10-inch pie pan. Fold the overhang under and crimp the edges. Line the crust with parchment paper and layer with pie weights or dried beans and pre-bake the crust for 15 minutes.
- While the crust pre-bakes, heat a large cast iron pan over medium-high heat with 1 Tablespoon of cooking fat. Cook the sausage, using a wooden spoon to break up the meat a bit, until no longer pink and lightly browned. Remove the pork to a bowl and keep to the side. Add the remaining 1-2 tablespoons cooking fat along with the onion and pepper. Cook stirring occasionally until the veggies are soft, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, tomatoes, thyme, salt and pepper. And cook, stirring often for about 3-5 minutes longer or until the tomatoes soften a bit. Add the roasted eggplant and zucchini along with the sausage and give the pot a good stir and remove from the heat.
- In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, milk and cheese.
- Scoop the filling into the pre-baked crust (after removing the pie weights or beans) and pour in the beaten eggs. (If you have extra veggie/meat mixture save it for adding to an egg scramble!) Place the pie plate on a baking sheet (to prevent filling from overflowing) and bake in the oven until the eggs are set and the crust is golden brown. About 50 minutes. Let the quiche cool for 15 minutes before sprinkling with fresh dill and serving.
Notes
*Use this recipe as a guide and adjust measurements and ingredients as necessary. Cooking times will very from kitchen to kitchen.