Friday

Mini Crustless Chicken & Nut Quiches

"These miniature crustless quiches are perfect handheld bites, served warm or at room temperature. May be baked up to one day ahead (reheat for 10 minutes before serving.) Or make the batter 1 day ahead, and bake off as needed."

Excellent for the buffet, or as a treat alongside soup, a simple salad, or a nice glass of wine.

Poulet & Noix (Chicken and Nut) Mini-Quiches
Adapted from Clotilde Dusoulier's 'Chocolate & Zucchini' cookbook


Ingredients:
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing pans
1 garlic clove, minced
6 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast meat, uncooked, or 1 cup (packed) cooked chicken cubes (1/4-inch cubes or just a bit larger)
3/4 teaspoons fine sea salt (a little more if your cheese isn't very salty)
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper 4 Roma/ plum tomatoes (about 12 ounces) I used regular tomatoes, seeds & juice removed.
3 large eggs
1 ½ cups milk
3/4 cup whole wheat (or all-purpose) flour
1 cup freshly grated Gruyere or Compte Cheese (about 3 ½ ounces)
2 Tablespoons (packed) chopped fresh tarragon leaves (substitute fresh flat-leaf parsley, or cilantro leaves)
2/3 cup cashews*, toasted and roughly chopped

*You may substitute almost any tree nut; almonds, macadamia, hazelnuts, walnuts, etc.

Method:
Heat the olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for a few seconds, until fragrant. Add the chicken, if raw, and season with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until golden and cooked through, but not tough. Let cool and cut into approximately 1/4-inch pieces.

Halve and core the tomatoes, discard juice and seeds, and dice the flesh. Whisk the eggs in a large mixing bowl. Add the milk and whisk again. Sift in the flour, season with the remaining ½ teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and whisk until blended; the batter will be thin.

Add the chicken, cheese, tomatoes, herbs, and nuts. Stir with a spoon to blend. (The batter can be made a day ahead, covered and refrigerated. Give it a stir before using the next day.)



Preheat the oven to 425-degrees (F) and grease a mini or regular-size muffin tin with olive oil. Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared muffin tin and bake for 25 to 35 minutes, depending on the size of your molds, until golden and puffy. (The smaller mini-tins will take less time.)

Transfer to a rack to cool for 2 minutes. Unmold, let cool for 10 minutes, and serve warm or at room temperature.

Variation: In the fall and winter, you can make a mushroom version of these quiches; substitute parsley for the tarragon and 9 ounces fresh cremini mushrooms for the tomatoes (3 cups when trimmed and chopped; add them raw to the batter.)



My notes: This recipe made 2 (Wilton, 24-well) mini-muffin pans. I used a combination of flat leaf parsley and fresh chopped thyme, I substituted toasted, chopped almonds, and regular tomatoes-on-the vine. Make sure you oil the muffin wells , or the cheese will tend to make them stick.

8 comments:

  1. These look great! I love the mushroom variation. I've seen the Chocolate and Zucchini cookbook, but haven't really looked through it. Maybe I should!

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  2. Mary, what a wonderful hors'd! Perfect for the upcoming holiday season...
    Thank you!

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  3. You always come up with something so nice and so delicious looking, Mary! and so different! Very inspiring! I love to come see what's upon the plates :)

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  4. oh i love little bites of things, sounds great!

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  5. Forgot to sign my name to the above Anon..
    Kathleen

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  6. Hello Mari Darling - I have everything needed, even the compte cheese! So I just wanted to let you know I'll be making the batter today, baking tomorrow, and serving on Sunday morning.

    I've actually had the recipe bookmarked in my Z&C cookbook forever, but your photos have convinced me that I need to make them now! I love that they're isn't a separate crust to deal with. If I manage to make it to the store to pick up mushrooms, I'll make that version as well.

    Have a great weekend!

    :)
    ButterYum

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  7. Hi Patricia, I'm so happy you're going to try them! Haven't been on the computer much lately, but I'll buzz over and see what's cooking on your blog right now. Thanks for the sweet comment! xo

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  8. They were fabulous. I made a ham/mushroom version too. Will try to get some good photos and blog about them tomorrow if the sun comes out. Chao for now.

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Thank you for your comments, friends ~ they make my day!

A Sampling of my food . . .

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