Golden puff pastry turns a quick quiche into a weeknight showpiece

If you're like me, from time to time, you buy a package of puff pastry to make a special treat, use one sheet and then put the rest in the freezer, thinking you'll bake something else with it someday.

And there it sits.

The good news is that frozen dough, if wrapped up nice and tight, is probably still good even if you bought it months ago. More good news: I've got a lovely quiche recipe from "Vegetarian Dinners in the Oven" by Rukmini Iyer that calls for one sheet, so you can use it to make a quick supper. (Side note: Puff pastry seems to be one of the few things I can count on finding in the freezer aisle during my recent coronavirus-social-distancing shopping trips.)

I've made this quiche several times, experimenting a bit.

You can use fresh or frozen broccoli. Or, if you prefer another quick-cooking vegetable, such as asparagus, you can substitute that. Chopped spinach is an option as well, but be sure to cook it first to remove the moisture.

Feta works in this dish as well as the blue cheese recommended, but soft and/or fattier cheeses - even cheddar - do not, because they may release too much moisture and oil that can soak into the pastry.

The recipe is vegetarian, calling for walnuts, which give the dish a meaty flavor as well as welcome texture. I couldn't help imagining how good it could be with a couple of crisp bacon strips crumbled into the whisked eggs. Haven't tried that yet, but I will.

Bonus: With this puff pastry version, there's no need to blind-bake the crust. The sheets of frozen dough come in various sizes, so consider that as you plan to make the quiche. You'll need to lay the pastry inside the pan and have it go up the sides enough so that the beaten eggs and vegetables have a shell for baking. That means the size of the pan may fluctuate slightly with the size of your pastry. For a 9-by-10-inch sheet of pastry, I used an 8-by-8-by-2-inch pan and it was perfect. The original recipe called for 10-by-15-inch sheet of pastry and a "small, deep roasting pan."

Along with the flavor and the ease, what I love about this quiche is how pretty it is. You pull it out of the oven and lift it from the pan using the parchment overhang. Then, peel the paper down and off to reveal an elegant-looking golden pastry rectangle with the vegetable-flecked eggs inside.

It's attractive enough to slide onto a platter and cut at the table, if you're craving a little loveliness at supper. A lightly dressed green salad makes it a complete, bright and nourishing meal.

QUICHE WITH BROCCOLI, GORGONZOLA AND WALNUTS

MAKES: 4 servings

Active time: 20 minutes | Total: 50 minutes

If you've got puff pastry in your freezer and fresh or frozen broccoli on hand, you can turn out this pretty-as-a-picture quiche in no time. It is best if eaten right away. This recipe recommends blue cheese for its big flavor, complemented by walnuts. You can skip the cheese or sub in feta for a milder flavor. It is best if eaten right away.

Storage Notes: The quiche can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days.

INGREDIENTS

• One (9-by-10-inch) sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

• 1/2 cup (3 ounces) broccoli florets

• 4 ounces Gorgonzola piccante cheese, crumbled (about 3/4 cup)

• 1/4 cup (about 1 ounce) roughly chopped walnuts

• 1 shallot, minced

• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

• 1/3 cup light cream

• 4 large eggs

• Finely grated zest from 1 lemon

• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt

• 1 clove garlic, minced (about 1 teaspoon)

DIRECTIONS

Place the baking rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Line the bottom and sides of an 8-by-8-by-2-inch baking pan with parchment paper so you have a few inches of overhang. Cover the base of the pan with the puff pastry and let the dough come up the sides to hold the filling in.

Cut the broccoli florets into bite-size pieces and then cut them in half lengthwise. Scatter the florets, Gorgonzola, walnuts, shallot and red pepper flakes evenly over the pastry.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the cream, eggs, lemon zest, salt and garlic, then pour the mixture over the quiche filling.

Place the pan in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes, until the pastry is cooked through and just starting to brown and the center of the quiche is slightly wobbly.

Remove from the oven and let the quiche rest in the pan for 10 minutes. Then, remove from pan, peel away the parchment, slice and serve warm or at room temperature.

Nutrition | Calories: 540; Total Fat: 40 g; Saturated Fat: 20 g; Cholesterol: 265 mg; Sodium: 1180 mg; Carbohydrates: 28 g; Dietary Fiber: 2 g; Sugars: 2 g; Protein: 19 g.

(Adapted from "Vegetarian Dinners in the Oven" by Rukmini Iyer. Chronicle Book.)Buy the book at a 15% discount! by clicking here or order in KINDLE edition at a 50% discount, JUST $9.99 by clicking here. Sales help fund JWR.)

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