Tuesday, December 2, 2008

PO-TA-TO! QUICHE

Not long before I moved from Brooklyn to Savannah, I was sitting in my doctor’s office getting my asthma checked out and was complaining about these little divots on my tongue. Seeing a doctor in New York City is a whole new trip of crazy to begin with- the most surprising part to me was how they will sit with you in their office and talk about your medical history, why you are there, etc. and then take you into an exam room and then back in the office you go. So, my doctor and I were comfortably sitting in his office chairs talking about these tiny divots (aphthous ulcers) he examined in the exam room and after I replied I had had them for a little over a year he replied in his thick Ghanaian accent “Oh no! That is much, much too long lets fix this!”. My point exactly doc. He decides to check me out for B12 deficiency with a blood test and sent me to the blood lady to drain some blood. I bid my adieu and went off to the blood lady.


About 2 minutes later he comes running into the blood room and said “Lindsey, Lindsey I forgot to tell you!” my heart sunk, I thought for sure I had some rare disease and had about 4 days to live but instead he exclaimed “You have the most beautiful cholesterol I have ever seen in my life!”. Sweet! It is true- beauty is not only skin deep - in my case cholesterol deep as well. It turns out he had never seen anybody with as low of cholesterol as I had and I walked out of his office that day my head just a little higher and my swagger just a littler more swaggin.

It has long been engrained in me, along with buying non-fat and low-fat products, to also watch foods that would raise my cholesterol such as butter, eggs, etc. My parents don’t suffer from high cholesterol but watching my cholesterol intake was something I always did and never knew why. Well not anymore! I embrace butter, eggs, cheese, oils and all that good cholesterol-y stuff with a hearty hug. Well maybe not a hearty hug but I let them slip into my diet a lot more frequently than I did before. The two following recipes for potato quiche are perfect examples of my “cholesterol to the wind” attitude I have embraced in the past few months- lucky for me now that I am in the south and everything is cooked in butter, oil and fat. So while the recipes are not cholesterol – free they are naturally gluten free and phenomenally delicious.


Potatoes are one of the most versatile foods out there and gluten- free. I love just about everything potato- mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, potatoes au gratin, potato soup and the list can go on and on. That list now includes my potato quiches. I was never a big fan of quiche- I always got sick and thought it was the eggs when in reality it was the gluten in the crust. I frequently think of recipes and how to make new creations as I lay in bed trying to fall asleep at night and for weeks have been pondering a quiche with potato crust. I just kept getting caught up with the baking of the potatoes for the crust. So, I called my mother and asked for her advice and she mentioned a Potatoes Anna dish she used to make. From my mother’s recipe and flipping through cookbooks and online sites the following recipes came to be. What is so awesome about these dishes are there versatility – I eat them for breakfast, lunch or dinner… much like the Pennsylvania prayer “Potatoes served at breakfast, At dinner served again; Potatoes served at supper, Forever and Amen!”


So pull up the B-52’s “ My Own Private Idaho” and pay homage to the state that gives us some fabulous gluten free food!

Simple Potato Quiche
4 tbsp butter
4 Idaho Potatoes
6 Eggs
½ can diced tomatoes or 1 large tomato diced
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Salt and Pepper as needed
Diced leftover squash and zucchini (optional)

1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2) Melt butter on oven in small sauce pan or in microwave- proof dish in microwave (optional: a couple of dashes of salt)
3) Slice potatoes about 1/8 of an inch thick using sharp knife or mandolin
1) Brush pie pan bottom and side with melted butter and place one layer of potatoes on bottom of pan. Brush top of potatoes with butter and layer additional potatoes over first layer trying to cover all “holes” made by the potatoes. Brush the second layer of potatoes with butter as well.
2) Place potatoes in oven for 15 minutes
3) While potatoes are baking break eggs in medium size bowl and whisk with fork
4) Mix tomatoes (drain if using canned), cheese and squash and zucchini into egg mixture (egg mixture will be very thick). Add pepper (optional)
5) Take potatoes out of the oven and add egg mixture. Add the rest of the potatoes in circular motion on top of egg mixture. Brush remaining butter on top of potatoes.
6) Place potato quiche back in oven for 45 minutes.
7) Let cool for 5-10 minutes and eat alone or with greens salad.
Serves 6 or 1 for a few days











Italian Potato Quiche
3 tbsp butter
2 Idaho Potatoes
¼ small yellow onion diced
2 small off the vine tomatoes diced
3 eggs
1 cup shredded mozzarella or Italian blend cheese
1 tsp Italian blend spice
1 clove garlic minced or jarred minced garlic (Spice World in produce section of most groceries)
Salt and Pepper as needed Olive Oil as needed

Steps 1-3 same as simple potato quiche

4) Brush 7X5X1.5 pan with butter and place one layer of potato

on bottom. Place in oven.
5) In sauté pan swirl olive oil and sauté onion and garlic on high
(one fork full if using jarred) until onion is translucent. Add
tomatoes and sauté until tender. Place heat on low.
6) Break eggs in bowl and whisk with fork.
7) Add cheese, Italian spices and tomato/onion mixture to eggs. Add Pepper (optional)
8) Take potatoes out of oven and add egg mixture (will be
thick). Add the rest of the potatoes on top of egg mixture and
brush with the rest of the butter.
9) Bake for 30 minutes.
10) Let cool for 5-10 minutes before eating.

Serves 2 or 1 for 3 meals!

These are two options of many you can make with the potato quiche. The key steps are really 1-3. If you are a pork eater (which I am not) you can add bacon or ham to either of the quiches. You can also make a Spanish quiche sautéing peppers and onions. Your imagination is your “potato” if you will!

And of course the aphthous ulcers were just one more sign of my
celiacs. Go figure!






2 comments:

Unknown said...

Grease and line a 20 cm (8 in) quiche tin with the pastry. Bake blind in the oven Gas mark 350°F (180°C) until golden brown and allow to cool slightly. Mix together the beaten eggs, grated potato, cream, salt and pepper. Pour into the quiche tin and arrange the asparagus spears in a circle in the case, like the spokes of a wheel. Bake in the oven Gas mark 7, 425°F (220°C) for 10 minutes, reduce heat to Gas mark 4, 350°F (180°C) and bake for a further 30 minutes. Serve garnished with chopped parsley.
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Brucewilliams
Mediatorr

Lindsey said...

This sounds delicious! Thanks for the recipe!