Heirloom Tomato and Polenta Quiche
Posted: 08/22/2014
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Perfect for brunch, everyone will love this colorful polenta quiche perfect for summer. And you’ll love the unique crust!
I’m happy to have a few more friends helping me out over the next few weeks — today is the lovely Samantha of The Little Ferraro Kitchen. She’s extremely talented and I cannot wait to try this recipe — I’m loving the unique polenta crust. Thanks, Samantha!
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Hi Rachel Cook’s readers! Or I really should say Aloha or Shalom! My name is Samantha and I blog over at The Little Ferraro Kitchen. If you haven’t stopped by before, I love to share cultural and world cuisine recipes. I’m from a diverse background, growing up Jewish in Brooklyn, then living in Hawaii, and now settling down in Southern Cali.
All of my recipes and inspiration come from cultural dishes and world travels. Learning about cultures through food is so exciting!
Another fun fact that some may already know…I am..head over heels obsessed with…TOMATOES! Weird? Funny?? Odd? Brilliant? Whatever you may think, I love, love tomatoes.
And this is my absolutely favorite time of year because heirlooms are at their peak and I just go ga-ga crazy for them! I tell my husband, Joe, “Don’t bring me home jewelry….bring me a whole array of rainbow tomatoes”. I think he likes that bargain as well.
So for today’s guest post for Rachel, I wanted to bring something colorful and vibrant that will put a smile on anyone’s face! I know she’s incredibly busy lately with moving and selling her condo, so I thought the rainbow of colors in this polenta quiche will do the trick!
Heirloom tomato and polenta quiche is on the menu for brunch this weekend! Instead of a traditional crust, I wanted something a little different, like this polenta one. We always have a jar of cornmeal to make polenta with.
So instead of making it a creamy dish like we’re used to, I spread the polenta all over a cast iron skillet and baked it as a crust first. Then I poured in a glorious amount of eggs and a beautiful assortment of colorful heirloom tomatoes.
Place the skillet back in the oven for a 20 minutes or so, top with fresh torn basil, and you have a gorgeous brunch centerpiece!
Looking for more great brunch recipes? Try these:
- Bacon Cheddar Quiche with Sweet Potato Crust
- Spinach Quiche with Cornmeal Crust
- Overnight French Toast Casserole
- Chai French Toast Skewers
- Grilled French Toast Stuffed with Strawberry Basil Cream Cheese
- Asparagus Gruyere Tart with Balsamic Glaze
- Ham, Spinach and Cheese Egg Boat Recipe
- White Pizza Frittata
- Turkey Sausage and Asparagus Quiche
- Crockpot Cheesy Potatoes
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
servings
Perfect for brunch, everyone will love this colorful quiche perfect for summer. And you’ll love the unique crust!
Ingredients
Polenta Crust
- 1 ¾ cup vegetable stock (or chicken stock or water)
- ½ cup cornmeal
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 sprigs thyme, leaves removed and chopped
- 2 sprigs rosemary, leaves removed and chopped
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Quiche
- 4 eggs
- ¼ cup ricotta cheese
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream (or half and half)
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2-3 medium sized heirloom tomatoes, sliced thin
- Few leaves of fresh basil, roughly torn for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- In a small pot, bring stock to a gentle boil, then add cornmeal and herbs; mix well. Stir for about 15 minutes over low heat until mixture becomes thick. When it’s thick, remove from heat, and add butter, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Taste for seasoning. Set aside.
- Spread polenta mixture into a greased oven safe skillet (I used cast iron), spreading the polenta evenly and a little up the sides. Bake at 425°F for 10 minutes until the crust gets slightly hard. Turn oven down to 350°F.
- In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, ricotta cheese, heavy cream, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.
- When crust is ready, pour egg mixture into skillet. Top with sliced heirloom tomatoes, using a fork to gently lift them up if they happen to sink. Grate more Parmesan to sprinkle on top, if desired.
- Bake at 350°F until eggs are set and cooked through, about 20-25 minutes.
- When done, allow quiche to cool slightly and top with freshly torn basil.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1slice, Calories: 141kcal, Carbohydrates: 10g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 111mg, Sodium: 338mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2g
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
Samantha @FerraroKitchen says
To Cissy: I would suggest lightly buttering the metal tart shells, just to ensure that the polenta doesn’t stick! And I definitely think the individual would hold together…just make sure you pre-bake the polenta “crust” so that it holds together before adding the quiche ingredients! Hope that helps and can’t wait to see the results :)
Cissy says
Hi Rachael, I’m considering making these as individual appetizer tarts, using metal mini-muffin tins. Do you think the individual polenta quiches will easily release from the muffin tin (or would the tin need greasing)? Also, would the individual quiches hold together, or wound the polenta crust fall apart? Thanks for your thoughts.
Mara says
Hi Rachael, this looks really delicious, just not sure about cornmeal ingredient, is the same as polenta? Thanks
Rachel Gurk says
Yes — polenta begins with cornmeal :)
Karen @ The Food Charlatan says
Polenta crust!! That sounds amazing! I love everything about this!