I have to admit it – I’ve been burned by vegan quiche
before. Sometimes, the recipes attempt
to make the quiche too eggy, even though there are no eggs anywhere on the
premises, and instead I’m left with this soggy, cardboardy-tasting pie
that makes me sad.
Tonight, though, has changed my mind entirely.
First of all, it amazes me that I’ve had Robin Robertson’s Vegan Planet in my home for almost a dozen years, and I’m still trying new recipes from within those pages. Tonight’s Provencal Vegetable Quiche was one
of those new-to-me dishes, and let me just spoil the surprise here and now: It
was a winner. Hands down.
Because I want the good Ms. Robertson to continue selling
her books, I won’t repeat the recipe here, but I will say it was a wonderful
mix of sautéed veggies, from zucchini to leeks to mushrooms to garlic to
tomatoes and more. All the hits, as it
were. I confess I purchased store-bought
pie crust, whereas she had instructed us to make our own, but that’s not a bad
shortcut if you ask me.
This recipe calls for a great many herbs to add to the sauté
pan, but I had a trick up my sleeve! This
weekend, while LeeLee and I were visiting the U.S. Botanical Garden for its
Herb Day celebration, we picked up (for free!) an “herbs de Provence” packet of
dried herbs that were grown in the Botanical Garden’s own greenhouses. (We also picked up – again, for free! – two additional
potted herbs for our own garden, one tarragon and one thyme.) So I sprinkled a generous helping of the
dried goodies atop my veggies and immediately felt the better for it.
The trick, as ever in vegan egg-like dishes, was the
topping. After placing a thin layer of
Daiya mozzarella on top of the sautéed vegetables in my pie crust, I poured on
a blend of silken tofu, almond milk, Dijon mustard, cayenne, and salt. Robertson’s recipe made more than I could
afford to put on top of the quiche – as it stood, some of the egg replacement
was dribbling off the sides – but after a turn in the oven for 45 minutes, it
had firmed up nicely. (I put the
remaining filling into the freezer for later use. No sense in letting it go to waste!)
As the quiche cooled for 5 minutes after its time in the
oven, I tossed a simple salad of lettuce, tomato, and Daiya mozzarella, and
whipped up a quick dressing of Vegenaise, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Then I sliced the quiche up – sadly, it gave
way and did not come out of the pie pan in a sensible little triangle, but
rather a glob – and served it, and dug right in!
Neat little triangle or no, this quiche was AMAZING. I loved the combination of flavors brought
out by the vegetables, and the herbs de Provence added a welcome finishing
touch. And the egg-substitute mixure? Divine!
It was light and airy, but it had a distinct (in a good way) taste that
made all the difference to the quiche’s final result.
After two hearty helpings, we called it quits and put the
rest in the fridge. But I’m already
looking forward to lunch tomorrow, when I’ll get to enjoy Round Two! Maybe I’ll leave a little for LeeLee,
too. We’ll see …
:)
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