Jess (our daughter) was down for a week around Christmas, and we had a great time cooking up some of our favorite meals despite the bustle of the season.
One of the days she and my wife inexplicably got a hankering for a tasty, hearty quiche; Chef Libby in Austin and I had recently talked about using sweet potato “hashbrowns” for a crust in a similar dish. So we did a bit of tweaking and came up with this Texican-inspired Southwestern Sausage Quiche in a Sweet Potato Hashbrown Crust.
Let’s face it, making quiches isn’t rocket science, though getting the flavors to balance nicely takes a bit of thought. Quiches are impressively malleable creations, in that you can fiddle with the filling ingredients to your heart’s content – changing the protein(s), vegetables, and cheese to suit your (family’s) tastes and what’s available in the fridge at the time.
Longtime readers know we like big, bold flavors, so I used a spicy/hot sausage here, though you could use just about anything and make it work (next time we’ll use a homemade chorizo like this one).
Note this recipe makes two quiches in 9-inch, deep dish pie plates or one bigger quiche in a deeper quiche pan. We usually make two and hold one in the fridge for an evening when a quick, easy dinner is needed. This reheats amazingly well – cut it into slices, place on a lined baking sheet and give it 30 minutes in a 350 oven from a cold start. Easy peasy.
Sweet Potato Crust
2-3 medium sweet potatoes, grated
2 tbsp AO/EVOO
1 tsp good salt
Optional: 2 tsp cumin
Optional: 2 tsp chile powderSouthwestern Sausage Filling
8 eggs
1 can full fat coconut milk
2-3 tsp cumin
1 tsp good salt1 lb good sausage, browned, crumbled (see comment above)
1/2 yellow or red onion, diced
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
7-ounce can chopped green chiles (or more)
1-2 jalapeno (or Fresno) chiles, stemmed, seeded, diced
2 cups Monterrey Jack or Pepper Jack cheese, grated (maybe more)
Optional: 1 tbsp pickled jalapenos with juice, chopped smallGarnish with sour cream, chopped cilantro, more pickled peppers, chopped red onion, etc..
Fire the oven and heat to 350.
Stir together the crust ingredients and pat into 2 deep 9-inch pie plates lightly coated with the oil of your choice. Bake the crusts for 20-30 minutes until the sweet potatoes begin to brown. Remove from oven and set aside.
While the crusts are browning in the oven, sauté the sausage until it’s beginning to brown, breaking it up as you go; when nearly done, add the onion, mushrooms, and chiles and sauté until softened.
As the sausage is sizzling, combine the eggs, coconut milk, cumin, and salt in a blender or by hand using a whisk.
Finally, sprinkle 1/4 of the cheese into each pie plate, then divide the sausage and pepper mixture between the two. Top with the remaining cheese, and pour the egg mixture over, dividing between the two plates.
Place on a baking sheet, and bake for 50-60 minutes until the quiche is set and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean (may need more time if your pie plates are particularly deep).
Allow to cool 15 minutes before slicing; cool completely before covering and storing in the fridge (we make two, and reheat one later for breakfast or dinner).
Enjoy.
