Vegetable Quiche

Quiche
(will get you to eat your vegetables)

As a child, I absolutely loved when my mom made quiche. It was so rich, flavorful, and creamy. It was full of sliced ham and Swiss cheese with a buttery crust. Today, this is not a quiche I would consider making on any regular basis.
This recipe is for a less rich but satisfying (and easy!) alternative. It is really not a true "quiche" as there is no milk or cream involved. For this version I also tried out a potato crust which is a great alternative to those packaged pie crusts. It's also gluten free. While I’m not so interested in unnecessary restrictive diets (I understand gluten free is a new fad in the diet world) there are many folks out there who have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity and many others who chose a gluten free diet for personal reasons.

You will need:
4-6 red potatoes
1 small head of broccoli
1/2 yellow onion
8 eggs
cheese (Cheddar, Swiss, Gruyere)

Slice the potatoes THIN. This is a real pain (unless you happen to have a mandolin) but completely necessary if you want the potatoes to be pliable enough to shape into the pan.
Brush the bottom of your 8 x 8 cake pan or 9 inch pie pan with melted butter or cooking spray. Position the potato slices on the bottom and about 1 inch up the sides of your pan slightly overlapping. They will shrink with cooking so make sure to overlap them well. Brush with melted butter or cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Chop the 1/2 yellow onion and sauté in olive oil until soft.
Chop the broccoli (should be 1 1/2-2 cups)
If you choose to chop some of the broccoli stems (which I do) I suggest you add them to the pan first and allow them to cook for about 2 minutes before adding the broccoli heads. Cook until the all of the florets have turned a bright green.

In a bowl, mix together 4 whole eggs and 4 egg whites. Add cheese (reserve some for the top) and pepper to taste.

Remove the potato crust from the oven and allow it to cool.
Add the broccoli and onion mixture.
Pour the egg mixture over the top and sprinkle with cheese. Make sure that all of the broccoli pieces have some egg covering. The pieces do not have to be completely submerged in the egg but spoon some egg over the top if there are pieces without.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until middle is cooked through. You can test that just as you would a cake.