Day 355: Caraway Cabbage Quiche ◄

In recent years, my family's switched from birthday cakes to birthday pies. The contingent in Hot Houston goes for ice cream pies. My Dad lifts his fork with alacrity whatever's placed on the table but is partial to cream pies; earlier this week for his x0th, it was banana caramel cream. (No recipe! No pictures! Just pure pleasure in cooking ... and yes, eating.)

For A Veggie Venture's 1st birthday -- yes, it's happening here, too! just like at one blog after another, a birthday celebration -- pie also seemed appropriate, a quiche to be precise, a quiche packed with vegetables, of course!

Prepare to meet ... Caraway Cabbage Quiche! And oh man, talk about good. (And oh so different ... and yet the same ...as the inauspicious beginning on Day One.)

NUTRITION NOTES ... Bon Appetit's inspiring recipe said, quite seriously, "Serves 4". A quarter of a whole pie? Who are they kidding? Whose waistlines are they deforming? At my house, pie gets cut in EIGHT pieces if it's a special celebration, otherwise it's TEN. Just LOOK at the calorie differences in the nutrition estimate (below).

NEXT TIME ... I'll increase the caraway, or use seeds whose concentration might create 'bursts' of flavor. It could handle less bacon, maybe 2 strips versus 4. And I might allow time to cook-n-cook-n-cook the cabbage so it'd get soft and extra flavorful, almost to the melting point.

SO ... If it's A Veggie Venture's birthday, why isn't this Day 366? Because I took time off and then re-started the Day Clock! But yes, it's a countdown now, only 10 more days to go in an incredible journey.

FROM THE ARCHIVES ... If the idea of caraway and cabbage is appealing, you might like this simple side dish from a Kitchen Parade archive column.

CARAWAY CABBAGE QUICHE

Bookmark or print this recipe only
Hands-on time (not including crust): 25 minutes
Time to table (not including crust): 90 minutes
Serves 8


1 baked crust in a ten-inch quiche pan (see ALANNA's TIPS)

4 slices bacon, chopped small
1 large onion, diced
4 cups finely chopped cabbage (about half a medium head)

1 cup half and half
3 eggs
1 cup grated Gruyere (from about 4 ounces)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon ground caraway (the inspiring recipe called for seeds)
Freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 375F. Cook the bacon in a large, deep skillet, stirring often, for about 5 minutes. Add the onion and saute until it softens. Add the cabbage (in batches if necessary) and stir into bacon and onion, coating well with the bacon fat. Cook til the cabbage becomes golden brown, stirring often. (This took longer than I thought, about 30 minutes. I kept a timer going, it needed stirring every 3 or so minutes.)

While cabbage cooks, whisk the remaining ingredients. Stir in the cabbage. Transfer to baked pie crust and bake for 40 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
8 Slices - Per Serving: 371 Cal (64% from Fat, 14% from Protein, 22% from Carb); 13 g Protein; 27 g Tot Fat; 12 g Sat Fat; 20 g Carb; 2 g Fiber; NetCarb18; 241 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 670 mg Sodium; 139 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 9.5 points

4 Slices - Per Serving: 742 Cal (64% from Fat, 14% from Protein, 22% from Carb); 25 g Protein; 53 g Tot Fat; 24 g Sat Fat; 41 g Carb; 3 g Fiber; NetCarb38; 482 mg Calcium; 2 mg Iron; 1341 mg Sodium; 279 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 18.5 points

ALANNA's TIPS
  • For quick and convenient, I'm happy with Pillsbury refrigerated crusts. That said, they do improve considerably if you simply roll them a bit thinner, which is needed for a quiche pan of this size anyway.
  • But by all means, if you enjoy making crust or would like to learn -- do make your own! The filling is worthy of an equally delicious crust.
  • When you see this in the title and the Recipe Box, you know the recipe's a personal favorite. Tastes vary, of course, but the mark is one indication of another vegetable recipe that's worth paying attention to.
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT'S DUE
Might be a first! I seem to have followed the recipe from Bon Appetit, December 1990, exactly!


(c) Copyright 2006 Kitchen Parade
Alanna Kellogg
Alanna Kellogg

A Veggie Venture is home of "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg and the famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.

Comments

  1. Happy birthday. Writing about veggies for a year is quite an accomplishment. Anxiously waiting to see what will be happening in ten more days.

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  2. This looks so delicious. Happy Birthday. I have really enjoyed your posts. thank you.

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  3. Happy B-day, Alanna! I like the idea of birthday pies too!

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  4. Happy 1st Anniversary/Birthday Alanna!

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  5. Hi Alanna,

    Happy 1st! What a great recipe - I'm looking forward to trying this.

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  6. Happy Veggie Birthday! A veggie a day is a good thing! Oh boy, those quiches serve Armies, I made one the other day we are still eating it...

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  7. Yes, Happy Birthday!!!! You should be so proud of your 1 year old. And that birthday pie looks wonderful!

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  8. Yum...that quiche looks delicious! Happy one year of cooking. What happens next? You aren't going to leave us without our daily dose of veggies, are you??

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  9. What a fantastic birthday cake! ;) I really admire the fact that you've been able to cook a new veggie dish every day for a year. May you have many veggie-filled years to come!

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  10. Happy Birthday!

    Anything with gruyere in it must be good!

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  11. Happy blog birthday! Caraway and cabbage is a yummy combination - very popular back home. Great choice for a birthday cake:)

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  12. Thanks, all!

    Pille, I think of caraway as being "scanda-hoovian" too so was surprised when Elaine from Axis of AEvil recently suggested not!

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  13. This is an old thread but I found it doing a search for cabbage quiche (2 servings) Ha, ha! I could easily eat a quarter of the pie. However I never make my quiche with a crust or bacon! ;-)

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Thank you for taking a moment to write! I read each and every comment, for each and every recipe, whether a current recipe or a long-ago favorite. If you have a specific question, it's nearly always answered quick-quick. ~ Alanna