Quiche Maraîchère # French Fridays with Dorie

Quiche Maraîchères (pronounced as maʀeʃe) was this week's assignment for the French Fridays with Dorie. 

Finally !      I had been longingly staring at the photograph alongside the recipe for weeks... With all the red and green market fresh vegetables, the quiche looked so pretty, springlike and so very inviting. But when it came to making it I was such a mess....

No. The recipe, though a little unusual, wasn't complicated at all.  All we had to do was to toss chopped celery stalks, leeks, carrots and red bell  pepper  in melted butter. Cook the veggies for about 10 minutes, then spoon the cooked vegetables into a 9 inch partially baked tart shell. Next whisk cream with an egg and an egg yolk,  pour the custard over the veggies and bake the quiche for about 20 minutes at 400°F. Finally sprinkle grated Gruyère or cheddar over the semi-baked quiche and bake it for another 5 to 10 minutes, or until the cheese is golden and the filling is uniformly puffed, browned and set. 

My quiche would probably have come out of the oven all pretty and dolled up had I not been over enthusiastic about letting the filling puff and brown uniformly. In trying to do so, I let the quiche bake for an extra 10-12 minutes which made it as brown as it looks below :( Anyway though thoroughly browned and somewhat over baked, the quiche tasted wonderful. I used  grated smoked Gruyère cheese on top and both husband and I thought that that cheese made it even more flavorful. We simply could not stop admiring the quiche. We loved it warm, we loved it cold, we loved it every time we cut a wedge out. It was simply fantastic ! 

update 4/27/2014: Made the quiche for dinner tonight and enjoyed it in all its prettiness...  I baked it for 30 minutes this time and was rewarded for following Dorie's instructions to the T :)   

Visit French Fridays with Dorie to know what the other members thought about this quiche. You can find the quiche recipe here and the recipe for the tart shell here. For more such delicious recipes order your copies of Around my French Table and join the Doristas in this tasty adventure.

I shall be sharing this recipe at some of these parties.

Christine's simple party soups - cream-topped asparagus, red pepper and broccoli # French Fridays with Dorie

This week the Doristas were scheduled to cook "Christine's simple party soups" for French Fridays with Dorie.. To be more specific we were scheduled to cook three simple soups... asparagus, red pepper and broccoli and top them each with a flavored cream.. Because they are so easy to make I made all three simultaneously and sampled them in my 'cutting-chai' glasses.....

Cutting-chai glasses ? Well they are little glasses in which tea is served in the roadside tea stalls, known as dhaba, in India. These glasses hold 1/4 to 1/2 a cup of chai and according to my husband, are perfect for the likes of me who love the idea of chai more than its flavor. At my request my father-in-law sent a set of these inexpensive glasses from India with my sister-in-law and I thought these little glasses were perfect for sampling all three soups at a go...

O.k. now about the soups... Attracted by the pretty picture alongside the recipe, I had tried the broccoli and asparagus soup before. The ease of preparation and the simplicity of the flavors made me like them instantly. Just simmer broccoli/asparagas and zucchini in water seasoned with chicken or vegetable bouillon cubes, salt and pepper until the vegetables are cooked, puree the mixture and serve with a topping of flavored whipped cream. Husband too had liked the soups, so I often make them whenever the respective vegetables are in season. And every time I garnish the broccoli soup with curry powder and the asparagus soup with dill and mustard. We enjoy them that way... 

As for the red pepper soup, I tried it for the first time last week. Unlike the other two, I only had to simmer chopped red pepper in seasoned water for this one and then puree the mixture. We both liked it with a garnish of crushed red pepper, though we thought that a roasted tomato and perhaps a clove or two of roasted garlic would make the soup more interesting.. Anyway on the whole it was nice and I'll probably make it with or without the adjustments again.

Visit French Fridays with Dorie to know what the other members thought about the soups.

You can the recipe here . For Dorie's original recipe and more such delicious ones order your copies of Around the French Table from Amazon or from The Book Depository and join us as we cook our way through the book.