Zucchini Quiche

I think I have found another zucchini recipe that is worth repeating. I loved this quiche. It has bacon in it, and really, where can you go wrong with bacon? Bacon makes almost all vegetables more palatable and it doesn't take much to season a whole dish (only two strips of hearty farmer's market bacon in this dish--for six servings, that's 1/3 a strip a bacon each, not bad...). Curtis and I liked this. M ate the crust, not surprised because she hasn't been a big quiche fan lately. J ate some of his, before deciding he just wanted crusts too. We served it with some small tomatoes cut into wedges that we had gotten in our box. I will definitely make this again!

A note on the filling--it acted differently than what I expected. Trust the baking times and if a toothpick comes out basically clean, call it done. It didn't get as firm as some of the other quiches I've made, but I really enjoyed the consistency.

Zucchini Quiche
adapted from Gourmet

1 (9-inch) pre-made pie crust
1/4 lb sliced bacon (use a lot less if you are using good Farmer's Market bacon)
2 medium zucchini (3/4 lb total), halved lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1/8" thick slices
3/4 c heavy cream
3/4 c milk
1/4 t black pepper
3 large eggs
1 c grated Swiss cheese (or Gruyere)

Prick pie crust all over and bake in preheated 450 degrees oven for 10 minutes. Let cool on a rack. Reduce oven temperature to 350.

While crust bakes, cook bacon in heavy 12" skillet (I used my cast iron black skillet) over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally until crisp. Drain on paper towels. Remove all but 1 T bacon fat from skillet. Add zucchini and saute in 1 T bacon fat over medium high heat, stirring frequently until zucchini is tender and starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Heat cream, milk, and pepper in a small saucepan until mixture just begins to simmer, then remove from heat. Whisk together eggs in a large heatproof bowl, then gradually whisk in hot cream mixture until combined. Stir in bacon, zucchini, and cheese and pour into pie crust. Bake in preheated 350 degrees oven until filling is just set,, 25 - 30 minutes. Let cool (in the pan) on a rack about 20 minutes. Serve.