Crustless Onion Quiche with a Provencal Twist

This Provencal quiche is reminiscent of the flavors & ingredients in a French Pissaladiere, originating in the city of Nice and a very popular pizza found all over Provence and the South of France. The only thing missing is the crust. To quote Patricia Wells, “This beautifully golden crustless quiche makes a great Sunday night supper in front of the fire, served with a zesty tossed green salad and a glass of chilled white wine. I’ve also served it as a sit-down appetizer at a cocktail party.” I know it’s been extremely cold where many of you live and this quiche is a cozy winter dish that's very easy to make and comes together beautifully.

We made the Provencal version with the black olives and anchovies. The onions give the quiche a slightly sweet taste and the anchovies and olives offer a nice balance of flavors. Don’t be afraid of the anchovies. Drained and rinsed well several times takes away the anchovy's heaviness and strong flavors. Just to make sure, I changed the water several times.  I recommend using a full flavored yellow onion and personally I think a sweet onion, such as a Vidalia, would make the quiche a tad too sweet, but of course that's up to you.

I used a ceramic tart pan, but after I made the quiche, I found some pictures on Facebook here and it looks like Patricia used a spring form pan lined with aluminum foil when she made hers. I haven’t tried it that way so I can’t attest as to whether the liquid will leak out or not. A rasp is a fantastic tool for grating fresh nutmeg and powdered nutmeg doesn’t even hold a candle to the freshly grated.

I followed Patricia’s advice and served a tart arugula salad, a few grape tomato halves for a burst of color and a nice chilled glass of white wine alongside. I’ve included a recipe for my house French vinaigrette below, which has been a family favorite for many years. Don’t even think of buying salad dressings when it is so easy to make your own. Homemade vinaigrettes always taste far superior to store bought, can be made in seconds, and will keep for days in the refrigerator, so there’s absolutely no reason not to make your own.

Crustless Onion Quiche with a Provencal Twist
From Patricia Wells at Home in Provence – serves 4 to 6
Printable Recipe

Unsalted butter for preparing the tart pan
1 pound onions, peeled (I used all purpose yellow onions)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, carefully stemmed
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Freshly grated nutmeg to taste
4 large eggs
¼ cup whole milk
3 tablespoons heavy cream
Provencal version directions below (optional but delicious & recommended)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Generously butter the bottom and sides of the baking dish/tart pan and set aside.

Slice the peeled onions in half lengthwise. Place, cut side down, on a cutting board and slice crosswise into very thin slices.

In a large unheated skillet, combine the onions, butter, thyme, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Sweat the onion mixture over moderate heat, covered, until the onions are soft, about 8 minutes. They should not caramelize or turn brown. Taste for seasonings and set aside.

Crack the eggs into a medium-size bowl and whisk just to blend. Whisk in the milk and cream.

Transfer the onions to the prepared baking dish, smoothing them out with the back of a spoon. Pour the egg mixture over the onions. Season with additional pepper and nutmeg. Place in the center of the oven and bake until the top is deep golden brown and the custard is firm, about 30 minutes. To test for doneness, insert the top of a knife in the center of the quiche. It is done when the knife comes out clean. Do not under bake or the quiche will be mushy, not firm. Let sit for about 5 minutes to firm up. Serve the quiche warm, cut into thin wedges, with a zesty tossed green salad and a glass of chilled white wine.

Quiche before baking

Provencal version: To give the quiche a Provencal accent. just before baking, arrange eight rinsed and soaked (I changed their water several times) anchovy fillets in a pinwheel pattern on the quiche. Separate the anchovies with a pitted black olive.

My Carolina Kitchen’s House French Vinaigrette
By Sam Hoffer – serves 3 to 4
Printable Recipe

3 tablespoons good extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ teaspoon (or more to taste) Dijon mustard
½ tablespoon finely chopped shallots
A pinch of sea salt such as Maldon
A couple of grinds of freshly ground black pepper, plus more for finishing
French Fleur de sel sea salt for finishing

Place all ingredients except the fleur del sel in a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake until well blended. Vinaigrette will keep several days in the refrigerator, but bring to room temperature before using. Toss over fresh salad greens, then taste for seasonings and add a pinch or two of finishing salt such as French fleur de sel salt and a few more grinds of freshly ground black pepper.

For better viewing, click photos to enlarge.

This will be shared with Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm and Miz Helen’s Country Kitchen Full Plate Thursday.

From our kitchen to yours, we hope you have a great weekend.
Sam & Meakin

Bistros of Provence, Part 1. Lunch at one of Patricia Well's favorite bistros - Le Bistrot du Paradou

Le Bistrot du Paradou is one of Patricia Wells’ favorite bistros in Provence. Located in the tiny village of Paradou, it is a short fifteen minute drive from Saint Remy. We had stopped by earlier in the week to reserve a table for the Thursday lunch as that was the day they were serving the wonderful local lamb, l'agneau du Pays. 

We had planned this two month culinary adventure to Provence many months in advance. Since we would have our own kitchen at our disposal and planned on cooking, I brought along three Patricia Wells cookbooks: Bistro Cooking, Patricia Wells at Home in Provence and The Provence Cookbook, which ended up being the most useful of the three. Not only did it have fabulous recipes, it included all of Patricia’s tips on her favorite restaurants, where to shop for olive oil, wines, breads, cheeses, where the best markets were – essentially an excellent tour guide of the region.

When we arrived at Le Bistrot du Paradou, owner Jean-Louis Pons greeted us. He is the perfect French host and carefully protects his bistro’s reputation by never allowing more people in than he can comfortably seat. Reservations are advisable as this popular bistro has been discovered and is frequented by locals as well as tourists.

I had taken The Provence Cookbook by Patricia Wells with us to lunch.  My husband Meakin, in his best French, asked Jean-Louis if he and his wife Mireille would autograph their pictures featured in the book. “J’adore Patricia Wells,” he said as he smiled broadly, poured us both a generous glass of wine and took our cookbook to the kitchen for Mireille to sign.

During the cheese course, Jean-Claude returned to our table and asked to borrow the Patricia Wells cookbook. Confused, we watched as he took the book to another table where a woman was dining. He sat and visited with her for a few minutes, looked through our cookbook, and then rose to greet more customers at the door. We continued to wonder what was going on as our cheese tray arrived. 

Later the lady who had been visiting with Jean-Claude came over to our table to return our cookbook and introduced herself as Fran Warde. Fran, a cookbook writer and co-author of My French Kitchen with Joanne Harris, was visiting bistros such as this one throughout Provence and writing a new book.

On our drive back to Saint Remy we stopped in the nearby tiny village of Maussane-les-Alphilles and visited the Moulin “Jean Marie Cornille,” a mill dating back to the early 1600's, to purchase a couple of bottles of Patricia Wells favorite olive oil. This is the oil that Patricia calls “the Chateauneuf-du-Pape of olive oil.” We purchased two bottles, a red label, Fruite Noir, and their gold label, Vierge A.O.C.  

Fountain in the charming Village of Maussane-les-Alphilles

We noticed another bistro to try on our next visit to this beautiful area, Le Petite France. Outside was proudly displayed Maitres Cuisiners de France, meaning their chef was a member of the prestigious Master Chefs of France. 

While we were here, we made a reservation at this charming restaurant. I hope you’ll join us there for another dejeuner as we continue on our 2007 culinary tour of Provence.

This will be linked to Oh the places I've been at the Tablescaper.