Since I was little, Mom has baked and gifted quiches for our close family friends every year at Christmas. It’s quite an affair in the kitchen, lasting for several days and involving pounds of freshly grated cheese and chopped ham.
Stirring together the quiche filling.
The process takes so long, in fact, that a few years ago she decided to bake something more simple. But that Sunday, a week or two before Christmas, she went to church and ran into a few friends whose kids were home from college. One told her he couldn’t wait to eat her quiche, and asked when she was delivering it. Another told her that the quiche was her favorite part of their Christmas morning breakfast. And just like that, she was back in the kitchen!
Adding in the caramelized onions. Good luck trying not to snag a few 🙂
The quiche is also a part of our family Christmas tradition. Mom bakes an extra for us and sets it aside for Christmas morning breakfast. We eat it with my very favorite sausage pinwheels and some fruit. Mom’s version is a ham & cheese quiche, which I’ve included alternate instructions for below.
The quiche prior to baking.
I’ve adapted her quiche for this recipe, using instead some in-season asparagus, caramelized onions, and bacon. The beauty of quiche is that you can use any veggies, meat, or cheese you have on hand. It’s a great recipe for using up leftover bacon, sausage, and ham. I’ve even had a quiche with leftover crawfish tails! Spinach, bell peppers and mushrooms also make for great add-ins.
Another thing I love about quiche is that you can serve it for any meal. It’s great with fruit in the morning, and pairs equally well with lightly dressed and peppered greens for lunch or dinner.
Asparagus, Bacon + Caramelized Onion Quiche
Ingredients
- 6 Eggs, beaten
- 1/2 c Half & half
- 8 oz Grated Swiss cheese
- 1 Large yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp. Unsalted butter
- 10 Baby asparagus, trimmed and chopped into 2 inch pieces
- 1/2 Pound cooked bacon
- 1 Deep dish uncooked pie shell
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Melt tablespoon of butter over medium heat in a skillet. Sautée sliced onion until translucent and slightly browned. Pepper the onion to taste.
- Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring several cups of water to an boil. Add the chopped asparagus and blanch for 2-3 minutes, until bright green.
- Chop the cooked bacon slices into 1 inch pieces, or crumble if you’d rather.
- In a medium to large prep bowl, whisk the eggs. Stir in half n half and cheese. Add asparagus, caramelized onion, and bacon. Salt and pepper liberally.
- Pour mixture into pre-prepared pie shell and bake in preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
Here are a few other quiche variations:
Ham & Cheese Quiche: Replace onion, asparagus, and bacon with 1 1/2 cups diced ham. Substitute 4 oz. freshly grated sharp cheddar for the Swiss. Makes a great breakfast quiche!
Spinach & Bacon Quiche: Replace onion and asparagus with 2 cups of chopped fresh spinach, and double the amount of cooked and chopped bacon, using a full pound.
Did you make this recipe? Let us know how it turned out in the comments below! And be sure to share your pics with us on instagram! We love to see them.
