Italian Sausage Quiche

Something different from the usual quiche – a quiche packed with Italian flavours! It might not be authentic Italian but it is super tasty!

I love to take classic dishes and put my own spin on them. It’s not that I think I can do it better. Anyone who thinks they can improve on a classic Quiche Lorraine is kidding themselves. There’s a reason it has stood the test of time!!

I just like to change things up sometimes. This is a typical example – making a quiche but filling it with Italian-esque fillings and flavours. This might not be authentic Italian, but it is damn yummy! The smell when it’s baking is lovely because you can really smell the Italian herbs!

This is made with Italian sausages which is the base flavouring for the filling so please don’t try to substitute it with ordinary sausages. It has to be made with proper Italian sausages, the ones where you can see chunks of meat and fat in them (as opposed to the standard ones that are a uniform pink colour as it is pureed with other things to fill them out).

I made this with ordinary Italian sausages, but it would be great made with Spicy Italian sausages too.

I’m not great at making anything pastry related. I’m just not coordinated enough. You can see in the photo below that I had to do a dodgy patch up effort because the pastry “flopped” and tore while I was putting it into the flan. So I had to do a bit of bandaid work and as you can see, I did not do a great job of it!

I like to call this “rustic”. Not “dodgy”! Jamie Oliver style, eh?

This freezes really well. It can also be made ahead and kept in the fridge for up to 2 days. You can microwave it but I encourage you to reheat it in the oven so you get the pastry lovely and crispy again.

So, this weekend, why not stay in for brunch? You can stay in your PJ’s and there are bottomless coffee refills…..happy brunching!

– Nagi

5.0 from 10 reviews

Italian Sausage Quiche

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

1 hour 10 mins

Total time

1 hour 30 mins

 

This isn't traditional Italian but it is sure packed with Italian flavours! This must be made using Italian sausages as it is a key flavouring component for the filling.

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats

Recipe type: Breakfast, Brunch, Lunch

Cuisine: Italian-esque

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• Oil spray
• 1½ sheets frozen shortcut pastry (Note 1), thawed OR one 9"/23cm ready made pie crust
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small onion, diced (brown, white, yellow)
• 12oz/350g Italian Sausages, casings removed
• 6 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tbsp dried Mixed Italian Herbs (Note 2)
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese (or tasty, provolone, monterey jack or any other flavoured melting cheese)
• ⅔ cup cherry tomatoes, halved and seeds scooped out

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
2. Lightly spray a 9"/23cm quiche flan or pie dish with oil.
3. Line with the pastry, trimming the excess. Use the extra ½ sheet to fill in any gaps as 1 sheet of pastry is slightly too small for a standard flan. Press to seal well.
4. Cover pastry with parchment (baking) paper, then fill with raw rice or dried beans to weigh it down.
5. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, then remove parchment paper and rice/beans. Return to the oven for a further 10 minutes until golden. Remove from oven.

Prepare Filling

1. Heat oil in a fry pan over high heat. Add the garlic and onions and sauté for 2 minutes. Then add the sausage and cook, using a spatula to break it up into pieces. Cook until the sausage is browned, then remove the pan from the stove (sausage can stay in the pan).
2. Whisk the eggs, milk, herbs, salt and pepper in a bowl until combined.

Assemble And Bake Quiche

1. Scatter half the cheese in the pie crust, then most of the sausage mixture. Pour over the egg mixture, top with remaining cheese and sausage. Then gently place the cherry tomatoes on the surface (cut side down).
2. Carefully transfer to the oven. Bake for 40 minutes until golden brown on top and the filling has set.
3. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

1. The pastry should be 25 cm x 25cm / 10" x 10" in size.

2. You can buy dried Italian Herb mixes in the herb and spice section of supermarkets. They don't cost any more than other herbs and spices.

3. This quiches freezes extremely well. It can also be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days. I strongly recommend reheating in the oven so the pastry reheats crisp.

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