Mini Quiches with Smoked Gouda and Black Forest Ham

 In a previous blog, I mentioned how I made a delicious crust for an apple pie. I later had enough leftover dough to make mini pie crusts. Another blog I wrote was a review on Jamie Oliver’s Lemon Curd recipe. I then filled some of those mini pie crusts with that same lemon curd and my friends, that was better than angels peeing on your tongue.

But that’s not what this blog is about! My point is, I still had quite a few mini crusts left over. That is when I got the idea to make mini quiches. And it was a wonderful idea indeed. I had breakfast prepared for the next four days. This dish was so fluffy, savoury and sweet, complimented by the beautiful smokiness from the cheese.

                                   

Ingredients

• ·         12 mini pie crusts (that fit in a muffin tin)
• ·         3 slices of black forest ham
• ·         1 cup of shredded smoked gouda cheese
• ·         ½ an onion, minced
• ·         5 eggs
• ·         ½ cup of milk
• ·         Pinch of salt
• ·         1 tbsp pepper
• ·         2 tsp oregano

                                                                                                                         

Preparation

Alright my peoples. First things first. You are going to want the pie crusts to be prebaked. You can find the baking directions for the mini pie crusts in my “Lemon Curd” blog. Once you have baked your pie crust, place them onto a rack to cool. You can keep your oven heated at 350 degrees because you are going to need to bake the crusts again once they contain the filling.

Next, as the crusts are cooling, start to prepare your filling. Beat the five eggs in a bowl and add salt, pepper and oregano. Then mix in your milk (I used 1%). After that, mince your onion and cut your slices of ham into tiny, bite sized pieces. Once these steps are complete, shred your smoked Gouda. Evidently, you can use a different type of cheese for this recipe. However, this particular cheese will give a creamy edge to your quiches.

Okay! Now you can assemble your quiche…as long as the crusts are cooled of course. First, place your crusts back into the muffin tins. Second, sprinkle your onion and ham onto the bottom of the crusts. 

Then, pour in the beaten eggs until they are just leveled with the top of the crusts.

 Finally, dust each quiche with your shredded cheese. This will create a sensual, caramelized crunch on the top of your quiches.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until there is no more jiggle in the cups…. Man, I wish I could do that to get rid of my jiggle. Anyways, you can also stick a toothpick into the mini quiches. If there is no wet mixture stuck to the toothpick, and it feels like you are pressing into a pillow, then you know they are complete…. Or you could just cut one open and take the risk of having one ugly quiche.

Taste Test

These delicate clouds, encapsulated by their flakey crusts, are absolutely sensational. They are savoury from the seasonings and the ham. Slightly sweet from the baked onions. And also contain a sharp, smoky flavour, captured by the divine smoked Gouda. I adore how fluffy the eggs are in this recipe, baked to perfection. Furthermore, the crust will just melt in your mouth, also baked to utter flawlessness.

This is such an easy recipe but it sounds so fancy since they are called mini quiches. And that is the beauty of quiche. You can add in any ingredients you want. So my friends, when you go ahead and recreate your own quiches, fell free to be as creative as you like. If you like fresh herbs, go ahead and add in those fresh herbs! If you enjoy veggies, throw in some veggies! The possibilities are endless. I do, however, highly recommend the smoked cheese. This will wow your friends and family when you serve them these delightful quiches.

Enjoy!