Makes one 9-inch pie

There are few things that bother me more than wasting good food. This blog is still young, but this is a topic that I can assure you will come up in future posts. Brett often likens me to an animal rescue activist – but for vegetables. Of course, I don’t limit my rescue efforts to vegetables – cake, pie and other baked goods are on the list more often than I’d like to admit.

While my rescue attempts can sometimes be a bit over the top (one a few years back resulted in a visit to the emergency department, complete with stitches), I hope that you find some helpful hints for using up ingredients in your own fridge or pantry.

Today’s post is the result of using up odd veggies in the crisper including zucchini from this dinner, some bell pepper, and a couple random stalks of kale. I also had some egg whites and pastry scraps, both leftover from holiday baking. The three cheeses may sound fancy but, in truth, they were random bits left in the cheese drawer that were on their last legs. Together, these ingredients made for a great weeknight supper, and leftovers for lunch that heated up well in the toaster oven at work.

Feel free to substitute the veggies and cheese for whatever you have on hand – this is all about using what’s in your fridge, and not letting it go to waste. For that matter, if you have leftover roasted vegetables you can use those, and half the prep will be done already. We are fortunate to be able to have access healthy, delicious food – and many people are not. This is one of the many reasons I try to ensure we maximize everything that makes its way into our fridge or pantry, with as little as possible going to waste.

Ingredients

Enough scrap pastry ends to line a 9-inch pie plate (or 1 single crust pie recipe)
1 small zucchini
½ sweet red bell pepper
1 medium shallot, or small red onion
2 tsp olive oil
3 eggs + 2 egg whites (or 4 whole eggs)
2/3 cup half-and-half cream (or milk)
1/3 cup mascarpone cheese
½ tsp dried basil
2 stalks red-leaf kale, or other winter green
½ cup aged cheddar, grated
¼ cup fresh grated parmesan
sea salt and fresh cracked pepper
¼ tsp smoked paprika (optional)

Method

Preheat oven to 375 °F.

While the oven is heating, chop the zucchini, pepper, and shallot. You can go a little smaller here than is typical for roasting vegetables, which will allow them to be more evenly distributed when the quiche is portioned.

Place vegetables in a medium casserole dish, drizzle with olive oil and season with the basil, as well as salt and pepper. Toss and place in the oven to roast for 20-25 minutes.

While vegetables roast, prepare the other ingredients:

On a lightly floured surface roll the pastry to about ¼-inch thickness. Place in 9-inch pie plate; trim the overhang and pinch the edges to create a scalloped affect.

Tear kale from stems and place in the bottom of the pie crust. Set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk eggs, cream, mascarpone, cheddar, and two tablespoons of the parmesan together. Season with salt and pepper. Set-aside

When the vegetables are lightly golden, remove from the oven and increase the temperature to 425°F.

Add vegetables to the pie plate on top of the kale. Pour in the egg mixture and sprinkle the top with remaining parmesan and a little smoked paprika, if using.

Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 °F and bake for an additional 20-30 minutes, until top is golden and centre is set.

Remove from the oven and let stand for five minutes before serving.

Serve with a side salad, oven roasted tomatoes, or a tomato chutney.