Shrimp Quiche

I'm not going to lie: This wasn't a quick, easy dinner. I usually have a high tolerance for culinary multitasking, but this requires rather hard kitchen labor for something that sits on Pillsbury pie crust.

Which isn't to say it wasn't tasty as hell. The results were pretty amazing. Coincidentally, Mark Bittman did a New York Times video and article on a Chinese dish of shrimp with scrambled eggs and scallions, which is basically the concept here. Bittman enthuses about how the taste of the shrimp permeates the eggs, which doesn't really sound very good, but is actually delicious.

Make if you are in the mood for something familar, but with a twist. Or if you want to impress people at a potluck brunch.

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Shrimp Quiche

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, beat together then set aside:
2 eggs
1/2 cup grated cheddar, smoked gouda, or similar
1/4 cup Parmesan
salt and pepper

In a large skillet, warm over medium heat:
2 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon olive oil (to prevent the butter from burning)

Add:
2 medium onions, roughly diced
1 pinch cayenne pepper

While the onions are cooking, place in a nine-inch pie pan:
1 premade crust
(Or make your own, but don't ask me about that.) Weigh down the inside of the crust with something to keep it from puffing up. People use all kinds of fancy things for this, but I just put a smaller round pan on top, and it worked fine. Cook the crust for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside when it seems fairly solid, but before it starts to brown.

Meanwhile, when the onions begin to soften, add:
2 heads broccoli, peeled
Break the trees into the smallest possible florets, and cut the stem into coins
(The broccoli could be replaced with another veggie, but there's something so right about broccoli in quiche, I think.)

When the broccoli is starting to soften, and the edges are browning slightly, add:
1 pound peeled, uncooked shrimp, roughly chopped
(You could use cooked shrimp here, too. Just add it right before you dump everything into the crust)

When the shrimp turns just barely pink, turn out the contents of the pan into the pre-baked crust. Pour the egg mixture in over the veggies and shrimp, then stick the whole thing in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the top browns and bubbles. At some point in the cooking process, I sprinkled some paprika over the top, which looked nice. Remove the quiche from oven when the jiggling in the middle of the quick seems to have more or less ceased, and let sit for a few minutes. Then dive in for a hot dinner, or serve at room temperature for brunch.