Weekends are made for brunching. And there’s no exception even during a global pandemic.
Chris and I have been lucky to have been working from home since March 2020. We have made breakfast and coffee every weekday since we can’t just grab something on the way into the office anymore. When I say “we,” I really mean Chris; I only made coffee twice in the last year. He really looks forward to weekends when we order brunch. It’s one of the small joys in his life to eat a brunch prepared by someone else.
My issue with delivered brunch is the steam. It ruins the texture of everything. Hot pastries get soggy. Eggs continue to cook and get rubbery. But I have a solution: make brunch at home… AND FREEZE IT! Then you can have brunch whenever you want.
Quiche
Most people think quiche originates from France. But it technically came from Germany! The word quiche comes from the German word for cake, “Kuchen.” The region was under German-rule at that time (the European borders have changed quite a lot throughout history). The use of egg and cream in pastries date back to as early as 13th century. Quiche wasn’t popular in the US until the 80s though.
I absolutely love quiche. It’s the perfect combination of pastry and eggs – everything I love for breakfast. Or any time for that matter. The crust is the key to me. That’s why I spend a bit of time to make a rough pastry for my quiches. Rough pastry makes a super flakey and tender crust that is to die for. The key to a good rough pastry? Don’t overwork it! The less you fuss with the dough, the flakier it’ll be. The point is to avoid creating too much friction for gluten to develop. Gluten is the opposite of what you want in pastry.
Make Ahead!
Another reason I love quiche is because it freezes so well. It takes a bit of time to bake but it’s worth it. I also love the yield each batch of quiche produces. There’s so much!
Whenever I make quiche, I always portion it out, saran wrap each piece, and then freeze them. They freeze surprisingly well. You pull out the quiche and let it defrost in the fridge overnight. Then heat it up in a 350F oven for 10-15 minutes and the pastry crisps up again and the egg custard gets soft and cheesy. Perfect meal prep!
Seafood for Breakfast?
When I say quiche, I’m pretty sure seafood isn’t the first thing that pops into your head. Quiche Lorraine is likely the most popular quiche out there: bacon and cheese. Followed closely by ham and cheese and then vegetables.
We’ve been trying to eat incorporate more fish into our diet. So it was definitely a conscious choice to swap in fish. Because we’re eating quiche primarily for breakfast, big fishy breathe is not something I strive for. That’s why I love Gorton’s Lemon Herb fish fillets! The fish fillets are made with actual fillets of flakey pollock. The fillets are flash frozen to lock in freshness so there’s no bad stuff. I also love that the crunchy breading adds another level of texture too!
Homemade crust? Swapped in seafood? This quiche is definitely better than take out!
Crispy Lemon Herb Fish Quiche
Ingredients
- Crust
- 1 c all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 3-6 tablespoons ice cold water
- Quiche
- 5 ounce fresh spinach
- 1/2 medium onion, sliced
- 1/2 tablespoon neutral oil
- 8 Gorton's Lemon Herb Frozen Fillets
- 3 large eggs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup cream
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Directions
- Step 1 In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and sugar. Add the cold butter and using either a dough blender or a butter knife, cut the butter into the flour until the butter are small pea sized pieces.
- Step 2 Add 3 tablespoons of cold water and form a dough with hands. Add additional tablespoons of water as needed for the dough to form. Do not add too much water and do not overwork the dough.
- Step 3 Make a disc with the dough and wrap with saran wrap. Place in refrigerator for at least an hour before use (overnight is best).
- Step 4 Preheat oven to 350F.
- Step 5 Dust work surface with flour and roll out dough to about 14″ circle in circumference.
- Step 6 Gently lay the dough onto a 9.5″ circle tart pan and push into edges of the pan to cover the sides as well. Cut off excess at the top if necessary.
- Step 7 Poke holes into the dough with a fork.
- Step 8 Bake for 35 minutes until lightly browned.
- Step 9 While crust is cooling, make filling.
- Step 10 Preheat oven to 375F.
- Step 11 Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Add onions and cook until lightly caramelized. Add spinach and cook until wilted. Set aside to cool.
- Step 12 Whisk together eggs, milk, cream, salt, and pepper.
- Step 13 Sprinkle half the cheese onto the crust, arrange the spinach and onions next, and then top with the fillets in a pattern of your choice.
- Step 14 Pour egg mixture into tart and top with remaining cheese.
- Step 15 Bake for 30-40 minutes until the top is golden brown (cover with foil halfway if the top browns too much or quickly before the cook time has ended).
- Step 16 Let cool before serving.
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