Carrot Quiche

It's been a while since I've blogged. I've been busy with many other projects. And while I have been cooking and baking, none of the recipes have been from the Cream of the West Cook Book. I decided recently, however, that I needed to get back to it, and so I looked at the list of recipes I'd intended to try and picked one for this week.

I admit, carrot quiche doesn't necessarily sound all that appealing. And, believe it or not, I'm actually not a huge fan of carrots (though I do add them to soups and stews). I am, however, a quiche lover. It's great for lunch or supper, and it stores and reheats well. I've tried many different quiche combos in the past (broccoli, ham, sun-dried tomato, onion). The idea of carrot quiche was so foreign that I decided it was worth trying.

I didn't make the pastry myself -- that was too much work after a busy week of decluttering and reorganization (which is still in progress). Instead, I purchased a pie shell at Sobeys. I also decided that there was no reason why the carrots would have to be sliced (despite the recipe suggesting they be arranged "attractively" in the pastry), so I bought matchstick carrots (yes, a bit of a cheat or, as I like to call it, time-saver). My only other modification to the recipe was the addition of one small onion, sauteed in some olive oil. I anticipated that the carrots alone might be a bit bland and I also believe that onions make everything better. Reading the recipe, I was worried about the salt content, but decided not to alter the quantities.

The components came together quickly. While I boiled the carrots for 3 minutes, I mixed up the egg mixture and grated the cheese. The assembly took no time at all.

Following the recipe, I preheated the oven to 425F, but I actually baked the quiche for 35 minutes at 375F. Having made quiche in my oven before, I knew that would yield better results. Thirty-five minutes later, I removed the quiche from the oven and let it cool before carving it into 6 pieces for suppers and lunches this week.

The end result was as attractive as any quiche I've made. But how would it taste?

I tried my first piece for supper tonight. It wasn't nearly as bad as I'd feared it might be. I consider it a pleasant supply. The salt balance was good and the cheese really complemented the carrots, which still had a little bite to them (thankfully -- I don't like mushy veggies). It could use a little more flavour, but the nutmeg was a nice addition. In the future, I might try it with a grated potato crust instead of the pastry.

For now, I'll rate it 7/10.