Bacon, Vegetable, and Ricotta Quiche: Guest Post by Katherine Martinelli

Hi folks. Today I have a very special treat for you. The lovely and talented Katherine Martinelli is gracing us with a guest post here on Cravings of a Lunatic. I have no idea how I got so lucky to have her agree to do this for me. She is an incredible cook, talented photographer, world traveller and the most amazing person. Her work has been featured in places like Food & Wine, and Women's Health to name a couple. You can pop by her "featured" page to read more about her impressive body of work. I would love for you to stop by her "about" page to learn more about this fascinating lady. I envy her travels, as well as her talent in both cooking and photography. You can follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and also Stumble. I remember when Katherine started to comment on my blog, I was so taken with how sweet and supportive she is. Every time I visit her I am absolutely mesmerized by her photos. Her recipes are so impressive, there is such a vast array of them to delight your senses. I hope you all stop by and stalk follow her like I do. Swing by her blog and tell her Lunie sent you. You will be so happy you did and you may thank me with chocolate! Lots and lots of chocolate!

When Kim from Cravings of a Lunatic asked me to do a guest post on her lovely blog, there was only one answer: Of course! I’ve admired Kim’s blog for some time. It’s written in a funny, candid voice and is full of inspiring recipes. Having recently become blogging buddies, I can also tell you that Kim is a thoughtful, supportive individual, the kind that you’re lucky to have in your corner. We spent some time considering what recipe to include and settled on one that Kim herself would never post: quiche. Kim hates eggs and is lactose intolerant so this egg-based quiche with ricotta is definitely a recipe her readers wouldn’t otherwise get from her! It’s just too bad she can’t try it.

I like quiche for many reasons, but its main draw for me is its versatility. I love that you can throw in basically whatever you have in your fridge, and that there is an endless possibility of meat, vegetable, and cheese combinations for the filling. It’s also a versatile dish that can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, hot or cold. Since I always have puff pastry and eggs on hand, it’s the kind of meal I can throw together quickly using what I have on hand.

This particular quiche I actually shopped for, though. I had a vision in my head of a bacon and ricotta quiche with vegetables and set out to make it. Asparagus was not part of the original plan, but they looked too beautiful to resist and were a perfect match. I used a large 11-inch tart pan here, but to make it in a standard 9-inch pie pan just leave out a few eggs. To speed things up I also used a frozen puff pastry as the base, but feel free to use your favorite pie crust, either homemade or purchased (I have a friend who makes an incredible cream cheese crust, which I originally wanted to make but was low on time).

Finally, feel free to switch up the filling based on personal preference and season. Instead of ricotta try cheddar or goat cheese. Omit the bacon to make it vegetarian, or add spinach and mushrooms instead of arugula and zucchini. See what I mean about it being versatile? Although I have to say, this particular combination will be entering my regular rotation.

Bacon, Vegetable, and Ricotta Quiche

Yield: 8 Servings

Ingredients:

Butter or shortening

1 sheet puff pastry, or your favorite pie crust

6 ounces bacon, roughly chopped

4 stalks asparagus

2 cups chopped zucchini (from 2 small zucchini)

½ cup chopped arugula

8 eggs

¼ cup whole milk or cream

6 ounces fresh ricotta

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease an 11-inch tart pan with butter or shortening.

Roll out the puff pastry (to make this easier make sure it is cold). Fit into the greased tart pan and weigh down with pastry weights or another oven-proof pan. Bake until light golden brown, about 10 minutes, pushing down where it puffs up. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon until crispy. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

Add the zucchini to the same pan with the bacon grease and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Bring a pot of water to a boil and lightly steam the asparagus. Drain and immediately run under cold water (this will stop it from cooking and help it keep its vibrant green color). Slice into bite-sized pieces.

In a large bowl whisk together the eggs and milk or cream. Fold in the bacon, zucchini, asparagus, arugula, and 4 ounces of the ricotta.

Pour the mixture into the tart pan with the baked crust. Crumble the remaining ricotta on top.

Bake until eggs are fully set, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to rest at least 5 minutes before slicing. Serve with a green salad and enjoy for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Thank you so much Katherine for this lovely egg recipe. I now wish I loved eggs. It will not stop me though. I am making this for Christmas brunch with the family. I know they will all make total piggies out of themselves over this one. I would love to take a minute to thank Katherine for her kind words and for agreeing to do this for me. I am forever touched you said yes. 

I know my readers will appreciate the touch of class Katherine has brought here today. I mean you are so used to my silly antics so this must be a nice break for everyone. I mean we got through a whole post without made up words and gangster slang. I never thought I'd see the day where that would happen. I mean I thought fo shizzle it was going to get all crazified and sillitastic up her in the weevilarific Bee blogaroo. So glad we dodged that bullet.

Toodles and smoochies. xx