Super Spring Supper: Crustless Quiche with Greens and Bacon

I adore quiche, especially the version known as Quiche Lorraine with bacon and cheese, the one that Julia Child trilled about on her cooking show, "The French Chef." I watched it in reruns on our first color TV in the 1960s, along with "The Galloping Gourmet"—aka Graham Kerr—as he swozzled his way through recipes swirling bottomless glasses of red wine.

The rage for French cuisine that Ms. Child ushered in caused quiche to become ubiquitous on brunch and "luncheon" menus in the 70s, though most were pale versions of Julia's, reheated in new-at-the-time microwave ovens or kept too long in warming ovens—they'd been made hours before, which deflated and dried out the delicate egg custard.

The difficulty for me when it comes to making them for anything but special occasions is the necessity for a blind-baked pie crust. Not that a crust is difficult, mind you, but it does require planning ahead—not my strong suit when it comes to weeknight dinners—to leave enough time for the dough to chill, then to prebake the crust before filling it and finishing the baking.

Crustless quiche to the rescue!

Perfect for a quick dinner using spring greens like raab or kale, I made the version below for dinner a couple of nights ago—the only time-consuming aspect was prepping the vegetables and bacon. Tossing them into a buttered dish with the grated cheese then pouring in the egg mixture was a cinch, and the resulting moist, eggy custard would have made Julia proud. 

Crustless Quiche with Greens and Bacon

1 Tbsp. butter for greasing the baking dish
1 1/2 Tbsp. panko or fine bread crumbs
3-4 oz. greens like kale, raab, etc.
8 oz. bacon sliced in 1/4" cubes
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 c. grated cheese like Comté, Gruyère or Cheddar
1 c. half-and-half
1 c. whole milk
5 eggs
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1 oz. freshly grated Parmesan
3 green onions, finely sliced

Preheat oven to 325°.

Butter a deep 9" pie dish or 8" square baking dish. Sprinkle the panko evenly over the bottom of the dish.

Bring a medium-sized pot of water to boil over high heat. Toss in greens and cook until tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Strain through a sieve or colander and run under cold water to stop them from cooking. Squeeze out moisture and slice into chiffonade. Place on paper towel to drain any remaining water.

In a small frying pan, sauté bacon over medium heat until slightly crisp. Add garlic, stir and remove from heat.

Break eggs into a medium-sized bowl and whisk until no whites are discernible. Whisk milk and half-and-half into eggs along with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Scatter greens evenly over bread crumbs in the buttered dish. Scatter bacon and garlic mixture (and any bacon fat) over the greens. Top bacon and greens with the grated cheese, covering it evenly. Slowly pour the egg mixture over the bacon, cheese and greens, letting it seep into the nooks and crannies. Sprinkle Parmesan and green onions over the top.

Place quiche on a sheet pan in the oven (just in case it bubbles over while baking) and bake 45-50 min. The middle can be slightly wobby when you take it out of the oven. Allow to cool for ten minutes before serving.