cast iron quiche w/ham and sharp cheddar cheese

2015/01/04 By Melinda 10 Comments

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There is something so satisfying about a deep dish quiche baked in cast iron. The tender crunch of a savory black pepper olive oil crust stuffed with hearty bites of ham and melty sharp cheddar cheese. Simple enough for a week night meal. Impressive enough for guests. Gratifying for even the hungriest diner. Serve with a simple green salad. Here’s proof positive that real people eat cast iron quiche!

I bought a lot of eggs this week.I tend to stock up this time of year.

There is something comforting, when approaching the darkest months, about having lots of supplies on hand. If I bake it the sun will come. There was a sale at the supermarket and then I actually made it down to the farmers market today and was able to get some local farm fresh eggs. I’ve been craving savory tarts like this potato onion tart.But one lousy egg? And all I’ve had to eat today is a smoothie. Which was delicious, but I should’ve had lunch. One should always have lunch, especially if breakfast was a smoothie.

Looking for other things you can make in your cast iron?

Some of my favorites include this flourless chocolate cake and this cornbread tamale pie (yes it does have tomatoes in it, but it’s a short cooking time so fear not with well seasoned cast iron!)

cast iron quiche w/ham and sharp cheddar cheese

options and methodology and such

Update: since sharing this has become a staple in our house any time of year, using leftover turkey, mushrooms, and, still my favorite, ham.
The crust has a bit of whole-wheat pastry flour and extra virgin olive oil added to hearty things up a bit. I did quite a bit of splash of this, short pour of that in this recipe so the amounts given are wild approximations in some cases- I’ll indicate where. But you’ve probably already gotten what you wanted out of this recipe, which is permission to use your cast iron skillet to make a deep-dish quiche. I wasn’t planning on sharing but I’ve got lights for after dark shooting and the mister dubbed it best quiche ever.
I went a bit lighter on the cream than most recipes call for but there is room to grow in the pan so you could increase the amount of cream if you wanted a custardier filling.
Speaking of filling. Ham and cheese are awesome in eggs. But I love eggs so I think almost every meat and vegetable is awesome in eggs. Salty is nice, bacon, ham, or sausage. As is a cheese with a bit of flavor- sharp cheddar or Swiss. And, in keeping with a cast iron philosophy, I kept the seasoning straightforward.
Yes, the directions say chopped cheddar cheese. You could shred it if you want but I like 1/2-3/4″ blocks to give you bites of cheese rather than just the flavor.

cast iron quiche w/ham and sharp cheddar cheese

Enough for one 10 1/2 inch cast iron skillet

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 40 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Ingredients

for the crust

1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1 cup AP flour
¼ tsp. salt
6 T unsalted butter cut into about 12 pieces – chilled or slightly frozen
About two T extra virgin olive oil a two or three second pour
About 1/4 – ½ cup cold water

for the filling

Butter or olive oil for cooking the onion
½ onion diced
2 cloves garlic minced
2 cups chopped ham
1 cup chopped sharp cheddar cheese
1 T spicy mustard I used my homemade mustard which is like a seeded Dijon
6 eggs
½-1 cup heavy cream I poured what was left of a quart into the egg mixture
Black pepper to taste
3 T or more chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

Combine the flours and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Whir to combine. Add the butter, pulse few times and then add the olive oil, pulsing about five or six times until the butter is chopped into petite pea sized pieces and the olive oil is distributed throughout. Slowly add the cold water until the starts to adhere together in little pebble like bits and if squeezed in your fist just stays together without crumbling.
Press the dough into a disk and refrigerate wrapped in plastic wrap or waxed paper.
Preheat the oven to 400 F (200C)
While the dough is chilling chop your onion and get it started softening with a teaspoon or two of oil or butter in your cast iron (10 1/2 inch) over a medium low heat.
Chop your ham and garlic and set aside. Once the onion has softened add the ham and garlic to the pan and allow to cook for another few minutes, stirring only once or twice. This is when I chop up the rest of my ingredients.
Remove the onion ham mixture from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
In a medium bowl whisk up the eggs and mustard. Add the cream, cheddar cheese, and parsley and mix until thoroughly combined. Once the ham mixture is no longer hot hot hot add it to the egg mixture and thoroughly combine. Wipe out the cast iron if necessary (I just made sure all the onion bits were out) and put in the freezer to cool.
Take out the dough and roll it out into an approximate 15-inch round. When rolling out a dough that requires a bit more structure I fold the dough a few times and then roll it out to create layers and more evenly incorporate the butter (like a rough puff pastry)
Place your crust into the chilled cast iron, crimping the top edge. Add the filling. Brush the little bit of creamy egg mixture left in the bowl onto the edge of the crust to give it a bit of gloss.
Bake at 400 for about 40 minutes until crust is browned and filling has completely set. Allow to cool for a about ten minutes and then serve warm or at room temperature.
See Also
13 Healthy Dessert Recipes Under 200 Calories a Serving

Tried this recipe?Mention @recipefiction or tag #recipefiction!

Reader Interactions

Comments

Pang @circahappy says
2015/01/06 at 10:27 am
This looks so yummy, Melinda. Breakfast, here I comes 🙂
Reply
- recipefiction says
  2015/01/06 at 9:14 pm
  The pictures aren’t as pretty as your posts but it was delicious 😉
  Reply
Just a cooking guy says
2018/01/17 at 8:05 am
I’ve used this recipe many times now it never fails to impress. Thanks so much for sharing it.
I’ve started using smoked gouda instead of cheddar, and the results are fantastic.
Reply
- Melinda says
  2018/01/17 at 8:32 am
  Yum, smoked gouda sounds like a great sub! I’m delighted to hear you are enjoying this.
  Reply
Syd says
2018/06/09 at 4:44 pm
Can I make this in 9 in pan?
Reply
- Melinda says
  2018/06/09 at 5:07 pm
  You can but I’m not sure how much extra filling you’d have. There would be extra crust too. Food52 has an elaborate math for converting https://food52.com/blog/13239-how-to-make-your-baking-recipe-fit-your-pan-size but I’d just make a big quiche and a cup cake size or two ones with the extra.
  Reply
Dkelley says
2019/02/03 at 4:40 pm
One of my favorite quiche dishes! I am now hooked on making quiche in my caste iron skillet! However, I substituted the heavy cream for milk for a lighter calorie count. I even added a little taste of smoked Vermont sharp cheddar to add bit more kick. Great recipe!
Reply
- Melinda says
  2019/02/12 at 8:34 pm
  Thank you! I’m so glad you like it and the substitutions sound great to me 😉
  Reply