Butternut Squash Quiche

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butternut squash, butternut squash quiche, food photography, Pumkin, quiche, recipe

It’s been a while since I have posted a recipe. Days are getting shorter and a little gloomy sometimes (yes, even in Austin, TX), so I thought I would share this heartwarming recipe, a cross between French comfort food, namely quiche, and a very American seasonal ingredient, butternut squash.

Now, I am not saying that the French are not using pumpkin or butternut squash. They are. The squashes most often used are potiron (pumpkin) and potimarron (red kuri squash). It was not often that I would find butternut squash (apparently called Doubeurre in France) in Paris, but things might have changed. I would say, though, that the use of many different sorts of squashes in cooking is more American than French.

Last month, I was in awe in front of the choice of squashes (edible or ornamental) Whole Foods in Austin was displaying:

So, this is the season when squashes are “extensively” used to cook in America. Now quiche is quite typical of French cuisine, even if cooked elsewhere. The most often seen kind of quiche is the quiche lorraine which is made with bacon.

A quiche is rich and ideal for this time of the year when temperatures begin to decrease. It is also quite simple to make.

To make this quiche, you will need:
– 12 oz of pre-diced butternut squash
– 4 eggs
– 8 oz of crème fraîche (I use the Vermont Creamery one. Now you can use heavy cream, but we like it better with real creme fraiche)
– Grated cheese
– 1 roll of pie crust

So no, I didn’t make the pie crust myself (Pillsbury is fine by me on busy week nights) and I also used pre-diced butternut squash.

You see, I used to buy the squashes whole and to cut them. That was until a winter evening in Brussels, Belgium. Long story short: I could not manage to cut open the darn big squash and hubby came to the rescue with a “I see you need a man here” comment. The man cut his thumb and we spent the evening at the ER of a public hospital of Brussels, next to an obviously drunk guy who came to the ER with a huge shovel, and hubby was taken care of by a doctor who obviously had been dumped by a boyfriend recently since she complained the all time she stitched up my husband’s thumb about men being sissies.
Sorry squashes, you look pretty whole, but really, you’re not worth such evenings ;-)

But I digress. Let’s go back to our recipe.

1. Preheat your oven to 350F. Put the diced squash in water, bring to a boil and cook for 3-4 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and the crème fraîche. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3. Pour the mixture on the crust. Add the drained, diced squash.

4. Add grated cheese (I used cheddar), as much as you want but enough to cover the quiche.

5. Cook for 30 minutes. Et voilà !

If you are craving something sweet – which I can completely relate to ;-) – I invite you to check my recipe from last year for pumpkin and chocolate chips madeleines.