brunch

I have to confess, I don’t understand the hype in Toronto when it comes to brunch. This means one has to get up, get ready, and travel to the brunch destination for the pleasure of waiting in line to pay quite a bit for dishes that are mostly made of inexpensive ingredients like eggs, toast and the like. I simply can’t be bothered when I can make amazing breakfasts at home, in my pyjamas, with a nice cup of coffee while I whip it up. Quiche: the quintessential brunch dish, can be quick and easy enough to make for a simple weekend breakfast at home. Then again, if you want to entertain, it’s special enough to dazzle your guests.

This version includes crisp Pancetta, freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, and Swiss Chard to balance all that richness. Using a store-bought frozen pie crust speeds things up and since it’s just a single-crust pie, does the job rather nicely. The recipe makes a single 9″ quiche, but it easily doubles if you wanted to make enough for a crowd.

To start, you’ll want to prep your crust according the directions it came with. For mine, I let it defrost for about 15 minutes while heating up the oven. I pricked it all over with a fork before blind baking it for 13 minutes until it was a light golden. Then it can cool while you prepare all the other ingredients.

Nothing but freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese will do for this recipe, no substituting pre-grated, non-refrigerated stuff here! The real thing adds a deep, almost nutty flavour and amazing texture to the final quiche. I use the large holes on a box grater for the best result.

Start the Pancetta in a large skillet, and fry until crisp. Then add the chopped Swiss Chard. You’l look at it and wonder how all this will ever fit into that pie crust, but don’t worry, it will reduce right down into a more management amount.

After 5–10 minutes, the Swiss Chard will wilt and the Pancetta will reemerge from the bottom of the pan. When it looks like the photo below, it’s ready! (Don’t overdo it, you want it well reduced but not completely dry).

Meanwhile, whip up the eggs, milk, cream, nutmeg and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese in a bowl. I find between the cheese and the Pancetta, there is enough salt that no additional need be added. You can use some freshly ground pepper here, though.

Now you simply assemble everything into the crust. The chard and Pancetta go in first. Next, top it up with the egg filling. I save a bit of the cheese to sprinkle on top to enhance the top “crust”.

Bake at 375° for 25 minutes, and voilà… beautiful quiche. Your kitchen will smell amazing right about now.

I find cutting the quiche into quarters for serving works well. Add a small side salad and a glass of bubbly, and you are off to one spectacular breakfast. Look at that filling: fluffy, loaded with veg, cheese and salty pancetta. And there’s a pretty nice flake on that crust. Why get all ready to go out for brunch when you can make this so easily at home in your PJs?

5 from 1 vote

Pancetta Parmigiano-Reggiano Quiche with Swiss Chard

My favourite quiche with savoury cheese and bacon flavours.

Course Breakfast, Brunch

Cuisine French

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

1 9" frozen pie shell
5 oz (140 g) Swiss chard, stems removed and chopped
2.5 oz (75 g) Pancetta, cubed
4 eggs
1/3 cup milk (2%)
1/3 cup half and half cream (10%)
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
freshly ground pepper to taste
2 oz (55 g) Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°. Remove pie shell from freezer and allow to rest at room temperature for 10–15 minutes. Prick pie shell all over with a fork, then bake for 12 minutes. Remove shell from oven and allow to cool.
Reduce oven temperature to 375°. Cook Pancetta over medium high heat until crisp. Add chard and sauté until the leaves have wilted and reduced substantially, about 7–9 minutes. Insert into pie crust.
In a medium bowl beat eggs; add milk, cream, nutmeg, pepper and most of the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (reserve a small handful to sprinkle on top of the quiche), stirring well to combine. Pour into prepared pie shell over top of the chard and Pancetta. Sprinkle with reserved cheese.
Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until just set in the centre. Insert a toothpick to check whether it is cooked through. Serve warm from the oven—tastes great with a side salad of peppery greens like Arugula in a light vinaigrette dressing.

Ever purchase some specialty flour like cake or whole wheat, only to have it sit there for a year and never have any need for it again? Determined not to let that happen to my recently purchased whole wheat flour, I decided to try out this recipe for scones. While this scone is not the buttery, crisp on the outside, melt-in-your-mouth scone of my dreams, they were a great mid-day snack and would be a lovely addition to any brunch. Bonus: unlike their buttery brethren, these will actually leave you feeling good after you eat them.

Based somewhat on a recipe from Epicurious, I changed things up by using fresh apples and cranberries rather than dried. I also substituted fresh pressed apple cider for the frozen concentrate, and I didn’t have buttermilk so went with the traditional substitution of milk and vinegar (1/2 cup milk with 1/2 tbsp milk). I also didn’t want to add yet another type of flour to my pantry so used rolled oats instead of oat flour.

Upon following the recipe I found the dough was very sticky and the scones lost their shape in the oven. To minimize the loss of shape, I suggest chilling the shaped dough on the baking sheet in the fridge for 20 minutes before popping them into the oven.

If you don’t want to make 12 all at once, these also freeze quite well—place shaped scones onto a baking sheet and freeze in a single layer; remove from sheet and wrap in plastic or a ziplock freezer bag.

Whole Wheat Cranberry Apple Scones

A healthy take on scones with whole grains and fresh fruit, a great snack or addition to brunch.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 12 scones

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter chilled, cut into cubes (1 stick of butter)
1/2 cup fresh cranberries
1/2 cup diced fresh apple
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup half and half cream for glaze
1/4 cup fresh apple cider
1 egg (large)
coarse sugar crystals

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Prep work surface with plastic wrap to roll and shape dough onto.
Combine first 8 ingredients in a large bowl, blend. Using a pastry cutter or 2 knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add cranberries and apples and toss together.
Whisk 1/2 cup buttermilk, cider and egg in a small bowl to combine. Add buttermilk, tossing until evenly moistened. Knead 2–3 turns in the bowl, then turn out onto the prepared plastic wrap, shaping into two 6" disks. Cut each disc into 6 wedges. Arrange scones onto baking sheet, spacing 1" apart. Place baking sheet in fridge for 20 minutes.
Remove baking sheet from fridge, brush with half and half, and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake until puffed and golden, and a tester inserted into the centre comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Serve warm.