Friday, April 8, 2011

crustless broccoli & sausage quiche

in traditional French cuisine, a quiche is an over-baked dish made with eggs and milk or cream in a pastry crust. obviously, not paleo.

here is a crust less PALEO quiche recipe with just as much flavor as it's classic counterpart. this is a super easy recipe that is great for breakfast, lunch or dinner.


Child and Pepin: 2 huge French cooking inspirations for me.





-1 medium onion, chopped
-1 pound of bulk sausage (just remove casings if you can't find it in bulk)
-2 cloves of garlic, grated
-coconut oil
-12 oz. of broccoli
-10 eggs
-sea salt/pepper/TJ's 21 seasoning salute

preheat your oven to 350 degrees. saute the onion in coconut oil over medium-highish heat. season with salt, pepper and 21 salute. once the onions are cooked halfway (translucent and soft) add the sausage meat. crumble the sausage as it cooks.

as the sausage is cooking, liberally grease a 9 x 13 pan in coconut oil. i suggest a small sandwich bag over your hand so you don't miss any spots or corners. next, in a large bowl, whisk the eggs vigorously. season with salt and pepper.


the broccoli i used was frozen in one of the steam-ready bags you throw into the microwave. instead of cooking it for 5 minutes in the microwave, i cooked it for only 2 so it was defrosted but not cooked all the way through. if you are using fresh broccoli, i would suggest blanching it for a minute or 2, any longer than that and it might get mushy. add the broccoli to the sausage mixture and cook for a minute or two.

finally, add the garlic to the sausage mixture, cook for one additional minute and then remove from the heat. place the broccoli-sausage mixture into the greased baking dish. pour the eggs over the top of the meat and vegetables and bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes.

before baking


after baking


serve piping hot. final product was delicious. this makes 6-8 servings and the leftovers are great!

10 comments:

Alissa Evelyn said...

This looks perfect for lunch - broccoli rocks!

Nica said...

I've made similar except I used spinach, total yumminess!

Kerri Heffel said...

such a versatile recipe. broccoli just happens to be one of my favorites!

refineJ said...

my husband and i just started eating paleo/primal today and this was our first recipe. taste was excellent...thanks for sharing and giving us such great step-by-step instructions. :)

Unknown said...

I love this recipe! I've made it twice in the last two weeks, and my husband loves it too.

Since we still eat a bit of cheese, I added a bit of cheese on the top, dunking most into the eggs and leaving a bit "dry" to brown. I also substituted 1 cup of egg whites and 6 eggs for the ten eggs, just because I am scared of 10 eggs, lol. I'm not saying this is better, I'm just saying it worked out just fine.

A batch is in the oven right now, and I asked the guy at Whole Foods to take two sausages out of their casing for it, one hot and one mild. I'm hoping for the dish to end up "medium" as a compromise for me and the husband. We'll see how it turns out!

Kerri Heffel said...

refineJ-- glad you enjoyed the recipe! welcome to the wonderful world of paleo/primal :)

Dalia-- that sounds delicious. i plan on experimenting with different vegetable and sausage flavor combinations. keep me posted on how yours turns out!

Stephanie J said...

Just found your blog. My husband and I are trying to make the leap to Paleo eating after starting CrossFit a few months ago. We love quiche, and I have been looking for a Paleo version that would satisfy our cravings. This looks really nice, and highly adaptable.

Anonymous said...

What kind of sausage did you use?! I can't find any paleo sausage anywhere because everything I find is processed. It seems like there are so many paleo recipes using sausage and bacon but I can't find any sausage or bacon that would be considered paleo anywhere! (unless of course you have a pig and directly cut of thin slices or grind it and make the sausage on your own) Any advice?

Kerri Heffel said...

Check your ingredients list. Make sure they are nitrate free and no added sugar or MSG. Wellshire Farms, Applegate Farms or your local butcher made be the best bet. Making your own isn't as difficult as it seems either. Good luck!

HopeHollinger said...

I have a wonderful recipe for homemade sausage, but it is a sweet sausage for breakfast. This might not work for a quice, but it is good with eggs on the side. I am making this for my Acrobat son and Dancer wife who are Paleo, and I am learning to say NO to 'wheat' too :) thank you!