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Make ahead ......... Unique ......... Delicious .......... Adaptable .......... Fun ..........
Breakfast. Lunch. Brunch. Dinner. Perfect!
Ingredients:
cooking spray
3 ounces baby arugula or spinach, this will seem like too much but don't be alarmed! It will be amazing to you when you see how much it shrinks up in the microwave!
2 tablespoons butter, softened, plus more for pan
1 pound package frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
8 large eggs
sea salt and ground pepper
½ cup light sour cream
1 cup half and half
sea salt
6 ounces grated Fontina cheese
2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled (goat cheese crumbles easily if you freeze for about 30 minutes beforehand)
4 scallions, thinly sliced
Directions:
1. Place arugula in a microwave safe container and sprinkle lightly with water (just a sprinkle with your hand - you don't need much at all!). Cover with plastic wrap and cook on high power setting for 1 minute. Remove from microwave and allow to cool.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
3. Spray a 9-by-2 ½-inch springform pan with cooking spray, then brush with butter. Line the sides of the pan with strips of parchment paper (the same height as pan); brush paper with butter - this part is essential - it will give you the lovely golden crust and keep the crust from sticking to your pan.
4. Place hash browns on 3-4 thicknesses of paper towels and fold paper towels over potatoes. Hold over sink and squeeze excess moisture from hash browns.
5. Remove hash browns from paper towel packet and place in a bowl with butter, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon coarse salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Pat into bottom and up sides of prepared pan, using your hands. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until set, 15 to 20 minutes.
6. Place cooled arugula on 3-4 thicknesses of paper towels and using technique in step 4, squeeze out excess liquid.
7. In a large bowl, whisk 7 remaining eggs, sour cream, half and half Fontina cheese, arugula, 1 teaspoons sea salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper until well combined.. Pour into crust, and sprinkle with crumbled goat cheese. Bake until set, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove outer ring of springform pan, and gently peel off parchment paper.
Notes:
~ There can be lots of variations to this delicious quiche; feel free to replace the Fontina with your favorite type of cheese. Use a creamy Feta in place of the goat cheese. Add ham, bacon, prosciutto, pancetta, Italian sausage or chicken/turkey sausage. Asparagus or scallions could replace the arugula or you could leave these veggies out altogether and just add some fresh herbs and a few chopped sun-dried tomatoes for a fabulous flavor variation.
~ Serve with muffins and fresh fruit for breakfast, brunch or lunch or with some crusty bread and a green salad for a lovely, simple lunch or dinner.
~ You can bake the crust and stir up the egg mixture the night before; in the morning just combine and finish baking!
~ This also re-warms quite nicely in the microwave.
Adapted from Martha Stewart Living
Karen Lilley says
Hi! It looks like you have used shredded/grated hash browns. Can’t find them anywhere. Can I use ovals and grate them using a food processor? Thanks for your help. Karen
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Karen, I haven't tried that so I don't want to advise if that will work. Sorry! If you try it, let us know!
Carlyn says
To Karen - The leaking is the result of not covering every surface of the springform pan with overlapping parchment paper strips. Brushing butter on each strip after it is placed in the pan helps the parchment paper stick together and prevent the leaking I fixed this for my book club today and it was a hit - very pretty presentation as well as tasty. I added a little prosciutto. I also sprinkled some goat cheese on top after it was cooked and added a little red silk flower to make it look Christmas festive.
Lynn kirk says
Made this twice for my gluten free peeps. I'm not sure I will ever make my quiche any other way, and I'm known for my quiche! So elegant and yet so simple, although isn't that usually the way. Thanks for a real keeper!
Chris Scheuer says
So glad it worked out for you Lynn. Quiche is amazingly versatile! I had a salmon and spinach one at a tiny French café for lunch yesterday afternoon - delicious!
Karen Pizzorni says
I've made this twice now (who wouldn't?) and both times the egg mixture seeped out of the crust and onto the baking sheet, probably equalivilant to one half cup of the egg mixture, both times. I even tried using 1.25 lb. of hash browns, thinking it would be a thicker crust, and I made double-sure there were no thin spots prior to the pre-bake.
Any idea what I did wrong? My pan is the correct size too...
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Karen, not sure what could be wrong unless it's the type of hash browns??
Heather Z says
I had the same problem too, and my parchment was one piece cut to go up the sides of my pan. My potatoes disappeared into the egg custard. So it was delicious, but not the impressive presentation I was hoping for.
Debi says
Is this Goat Cheese, Fontina and Arugula Quiche with a Hash Brown crust considered Gluten Free?
Chris Scheuer says
Yes Debi, it doesn't contain flour.
Erin Dolan says
This looks great! Planning on trying it out for my work Christmas Brunch on Sunday. If I substitute another cheese, just make sure the cheese total adds up to 8oz? And then you said about 1/2lb of meat could be added? I can follow a recipe but not great at changing out ingredients, just want to know for the future if I want to switch it up. Thanks!
Chris Scheuer says
Sorry for the delay, this comment got lost. Yes you can substitute the same about of your favorite cheese.
Christine says
This sounds so amazing! I plan on making it for a holiday breakfast my work team is going to be doing, but was thinking of adding some sausage! Do you have any recommendations on how much to add, and does it need to be cooked beforehand?
Thanks!
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Christine,
I think this would be great with sausage. Yes, cook it ahead of time and I would probably use about a half pound (225g).
rosaria williams says
Totally worth it!
jodyleblanc says
If you don't like Goat cheese, what other type of cheese could I use?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Jody, you could really use any other cheese in combination with the Fontina. Feta would be fine as would a good cheddar, even all Fontina would be quite delicious. This is very adaptable to what you like.
Anonymous says
Would this work just as well in a glass pie dish?
The Café Sucré Farine says
I think it would work fine, it just wouldn't be quite as pretty. The presentation is quite stunning in the springform pan but it would be just as tasty 🙂
Anonymous says
This looks wonderful and also love the idea of using a springform pan. I am not a fan of fontina or goat cheese and wondeing if you have made this with any other kinds of cheese? I would like to make this for a brunch in a few weeks. Thanks 🙂
TurnerRose says
I have made this a couple of times and both times it has been wonderful. We are going out of town for Easter and wondering if there were any suggestions on how to make ahead and freeze and reheat
The Café Sucré Farine says
Rose, I haven't frozen this particular quiche but I've done it with others and it works fine. I would just thaw in and warm it slowly till the crust is crisp. Hope it works out for you!
Another Idea is to make the crust ahead, freeze it and put together the egg mixture and store it separately, then bake it when you get there.
The Café Sucré Farine says
Just bake it 15-20 minutes, let it cool and then refrigerate, covered with foil or plastic wrap.