I am a huge lover of a good brunch, so I’m always on the look out for meals we can make on special occasions. I happened upon a version of this recipe in one of my favorite vegetarian cookbooks, Rebar Modern Food. With a few tweaks, we turned it into a gluten-free quiche, and it is absolutely delicious!
It does take a little effort, so this isn’t something you’ll whip up on a busy weekday morning. To save yourself precious morning time, you can make the crust the night before and store in the refrigerator overnight.
We served this tart with a simple side salad of mixed greens and a light vinaigrette. Si bueno!
Crust ingredients:
1 cup sorghum flour (buy here)
½ cup brown rice flour (buy here)
½ cup almond meal flour (buy here)
½ tsp sea salt
6 tbsp butter, cold (plus ½ tsp butter for greasing the pan)
2 tbsp water
Filling ingredients:
1 bulb garlic
1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped thinly into quarter moons (approx 2 cups)
extra virgin olive oil (buy here)
sea salt to taste
1 large shallot
1 tsp butter
2 tbsp fresh sage, minced
1 cup grated smoked cheddar or smoked gouda cheese
1 cup heavy cream
½ cup milk
3 eggs
To make the crust:
Preheat the oven to 350˚.
Combine the sorghum flour, brown rice flour, almond meal and ½ tsp sea salt in a mixing bowl, and whisk to mix well. Cut the 6 Tbsps of butter into small chunks and add it to the flour mixture, mixing with your fingertips to create the texture of a fine meal. Add the water slowly, still mixing with your fingers, until you can press the dough together to form a ball (it won’t stick quite the same way as gluten, but you want it to be able to clump together and stay that way after you’ve let go.)
Roll the dough out onto a floured surface (I used a sprinkle of rice flour on a wooden cutting board) with a rolling pin, and roll out into a thin round. Butter your pie plate or tart pan (I used a 10” pie plate—CONFIRM) with the additional ½ tsp of butter, and then carefully transfer the rolled out dough onto the plate, pressing it into the pan with the palm of your hand.
Punch a few holes in the bottom with a fork to allow air to escape while the crust is baking, and then bake at 350˚ for 12-15 minutes until just slightly browned. Remove the crust from the oven and set aside to cool while you prepare the other ingredients.
To make the filling:
Preheat the oven to 375˚.
Slice the very top off the garlic bulb, dab it with olive oil, and wrap in tin foil. Put in the oven to roast while it’s preheating and then while squash is cooking.
Tip: if I’m baking the crust at the same time as I’m making the whole tart, I’ll put the garlic in the oven as soon as I start to preheat it for the crust to make sure it’s well roasted by the time I’m ready to assemble everything.
While the oven is heating (or while the crust is in the oven if you didn’t make the crust the night before), peel and seed the butternut squash, and slice into thin quarter moons (about 1/8” thick). Toss with just enough olive oil to coat, add a pinch of sea salt, and spread out on a cooking tray. Roast the squash for about 15 minutes until lightly browned and soft.
While the squash is roasting, mince the shallots. Heat butter in a small frying pan and sauté the shallots until translucent with just a touch of brown on the edges.
Mince the sage, grate the cheese, and set both aside. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, milk and another pinch of sea salt.
To assemble:
The first layer is the cheese – lay it on the bottom of the crust. Then spread the shallots on top of the cheese, and the squash on top of the shallots. Sprinkle the minced sage on the squash and squeeze out the roasted garlic on top of the sage.(When the garlic is properly roasted, you can literally squeeze the bottom of the bulb and the roasted garlicky goodness will just come right out the top — assuming you’ve cut the very tops off as shown in the picture.)
Pour the egg custard mixture on top.
Put the whole thing in the oven and bake for approximately 30 minutes (check at 25 minutes and it may need to go a little beyond 30 depending on your oven). The tart is done when the custard has set and the top is just slightly browned.
Let cool, and serve with a side salad or other greens.
Would this work well without a crust, for a grain-free version?
Absolutely!