Do you ever walk into a cafe and see the wonderful display of cakes and muffins and think, "I could make that?" I'm always wondering how I could make the things I see every day and have been wanting to try crustless quiches for some time. So today I got to rustling them up for my lunch. Think of them as a crustless quiche or eggy muffin -- they're a cross between the two, I think.
They can be made with the ingredients you yourself love or whatever you have to hand. I wanted to make mine from broccoli, ricotta and feta as the main flavours. The mixture takes ten minutes to make and then they bake for thirty minutes in the oven so are super quick to turn around. They are perfect for a simple supper served with a salad or a lingering brunch with friends. I was so in love with them, I just ate two, but sssshhh -- just our little secret!
Experiments often don't work out the way you want the first time, but these are perfectly delicious. I only made three but have scaled up the mixture below to make six. You can make as many as you like but work with one egg per muffin and scale accordingly. I started by cutting the broccoli into tiny florets and put them in the base of the muffin holes -- when they're cut so small they cook perfectly and come out lovely and tender. Then the egg mixture is made with egg and ricotta, whisked until they're smooth and then seasoned with a little salt and pepper to taste. On top of the broccoli, I put some crumbled feta and the poured over the egg mixture. Then on the surface of them, I gently placed a few more pieces of feta and a couple of dollops more of ricotta -- and sprinkled them with chives. They bake for thirty minutes and arrive from the oven all lofty and puffed up. They quickly deflate which is no problem as these are quiches and not soufflés and I served mine warm from the oven.
I'm often eating scraps for lunch whilst everyone is away at school and work and it's sometimes difficult to feel inspired.
When these are so simple to make and with so few ingredients, it's not difficult to give yourself a treat now and again, is it?
Broccoli and Feta Crustless Quiche
Makes 6 muffin quiches
Ingredients
- 6 EGGS
- 270G RICOTTA CHEESE
- 180G FETA CHEESE
- 120G BROCCOLI (broken into tiny florets)
- CHIVES (chopped, to taste)
- SALT & PEPPER (to taste)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 170 degrees (fan)
- Whisk the eggs and 240g of the ricotta in a bowl until smooth -- place the remaining ricotta to one side
- Season with salt and pepper
- Place the small pieces of broccoli in the bottom of each muffin hole
- Crumble 120g of the feta evenly in each muffin hole on top of the broccoli -- place the remaining 60g to one side
- Pour the egg mixture evenly into muffin cavity
- Gently place the remaining ricotta and feta on the surface of each muffin
- Place gently into the oven and bake for 30 minutes
- The muffins should be golden brown and well risen
- Eat immediately :)