Squash Blossom, Roasted Tomato & Cilantro Quiche

I just made it to the San Rafael Farmers Market today and although I was thinking fall vegetables and dodging fat rain drops, I couldn't resist the awesome heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, and colorful squash blossoms.

I love squash blossoms, but their life once picked is so brief I wanted to find a dish that would preserve them for a few days. My answer was this beautiful quiche. Eggs, cheese, and pastry met my need for comfort food for a rainy day and I knew a quiche would highlight the squash blossoms beauty.

There were awesome sweet cherry tomatoes everywhere, so I decided to roast them with olive oil and salt & pepper (400 F for about 20 minutes). I knew these would add a sweet pop to my quiche.



I really wanted to keep things simple and highlight my main ingredients so I used scallions, goat cheese and cilantro to round out my flavors. The result was delicious. Be sure to roast more tomatoes than you need for the quiche and serve them as a side.

Squash Blossom, Roasted Tomato & Cilantro Quiche :
9 inch deep dish frozen pie crust
12 large squash blossoms
4 scallions, chopped
1 tsp olive oil
3/4 cup roasted cherry tomatoes (tomatoes, olive oil , S&P)
3 oz crumbled goat cheese
2 eggs + one egg yolk
1 +1/4 cup half and half
salt & pepper as desired


Preheat the oven to 400 F degrees. Combine cherry tomatoes, olive oil, S&P in an oven proof dish and cook for 20 minutes. Remove and turn oven down to 350F degrees.

Soak the squash blossoms in water and rinse 3 times to remove any bugs etc. Remove the stamens and stems, including the hard base, so just the petals are left. Heat a frying pan with the olive oil and fry the scallions for 1-2 minutes. Add the squash blossoms and saute for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Remove the frozen pie crust from the freezer and place on a baking sheet. Place 1oz of the crumbled goat cheese on the bottom. Add the roasted tomatoes and about half the squash blossoms/scallions and cilantro. Add another 1 oz of crumbled goat cheese.

Best the 2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk with the half and half. Add some salt and pepper. Pour the custard over the other ingredients in the quiche. Top with the final 1 oz crumbled goat cheese and spread out some pretty squash blossoms.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until a knife in the center of the quiche shows firm.

Serve with salad and roasted cherry tomatoes.