Recipe: Cabbage Quiche | Food and Wine Pairing

Adventures in Eating: Cabbage Quiche
by Rosemarie | January 1984
Cabbages! Not since Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland when the oysters spoke of “Cabbages and Kings” has the cabbage surfaced again in a celebrated manner with the Cabbage Patch Doll. I have yet to see one, but look forward to seeing the one my neighbor received from her daughter for Christmas.

I happen to be fond of cabbage, and as I gave this column some thought, I came to realize the versatility of this inexpensive vegetable. You can stuff, boil, dice, saute, pickle and now quiche the cabbage.

We had our fill of meats and sweets, so I challenge you to try this Cabbage Quiche. You may add a crust if you like, but it is not necessary. Serve it with a wilted Spinach Salad, and you have a splendid meal.

 

CABBAGE QUICHE

9″ quiche pan-buttered

1 sm head of cabbage (about 1 lb)

cored & finely shredded

8 T butter

1/2 onion finely chopped

3 eggs

1 cup light cream & milk, mixed

4 T freshly grated Gruyere cheese

3 T freshly grated Parmesan

Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

Dash of cayenne

1/4 t freshly grated nutmeg

Line the pastry shell with wax paper or foil, fill with dried beans and bake for 15 minutes. Remove paper, and let shell dry out for 5 minutes in the oven. Remove pan and reduce heat to 350°. Eliminate this step if you just want to bake the Quiche custard. Put the cabbage in a colander and pour a kettleful of boiling water over it gradually. Shake off excess moisture from cabbage. In a heavy sauce pan, melt the butter, add the cabbage and dried onions, cover and cook shaking the pan to prevent burning. A firm cabbage will take about 30 minutes, but check it from time to time. Remove pan from heat.

In a small bowl, beat eggs and milk/cream mixture. Let the cabbage and onion cool, a bit, then stir in the egg mixture and 2 Tbl. each of the Parmesan and Gruyere cheeses. Add seasonings. Carefully spoon the mixture into the quiche dish. Sprinkle remaining cheeses on top. Bake for 30 minutes or until filling is set and the top a rich golden color. If you want to use low-fat milk or non-fat milk, add an extra egg yolk and a tsp. of flour. Of course, it will not taste as creamy.

You may not have a Cabbage Patch Doll, but you can adopt this Quiche and love it.

Bon appétit!