What do you get when you put a farmer and a chef under one roof? The most delicious quiche. The Coppell Farmers Market has a pretty strait forward mission: to foster a community gathering place with local food production at its center. So, our hearts throbbed when the talents of two particular vendors, Fisher Family Farm and Joe the Baker, came together last week.
I first caught wind of their collaboration when Joe Baker, trained pastry chef and owner of Joe the Baker, LLC, posted a photograph of the most perfectly golden quiche on his social media pages with a tag line that read “Check out the Fisher Family Farm & Ranch CSA for more fresh, seasonal, local veggies”.
Chef Joe’s quiche was made with Fisher’s Napa cabbage, leeks, and broccoli. Joe Baker and his family pick up their produce box subscription from Fisher Family Farm each week during the market, but those who aren’t members of the farm’s CSA program can simply pick and choose veggies from the Fisher’s market booth.
If you make your way to the Coppell Farmers Market this Saturday to round up cooking ingredients, be sure to visit both vendors because you’ll surely need a package of Joe Baker’s French macarons for dessert. The two vendors are nearly neighbors, located close to the pavilion’s east entrance.
Asiago Quiche with Leeks, Napa Cabbage, and Fresh Broccoli
By Chef Joe Baker of Joe the Baker, LLC
Savory crust:
16 oz all purpose flour
teaspoon salt
8 ounces butter
6 ounces water, cold
-seasoning to taste
Blend the butter into the flour, salt, and seasoning until it is even in texture and uniform in size. Add the cold water and mix to form a smooth dough. Wrap tightly in cling film and refrigerate at least 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 375F. Roll out to 1/4″ thickness and line a baking dish as desired and chill again. Place pie weights or plastic wrapped rice and/or dried beans into the pie dough to weigh it down. Bake until the sides brown and set completely, about 15 minutes, then remove from oven, remove the weight from the crust and rebake to ensure the bottom is cooked through. Bake until flaky and dry to the touch, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely before further use. Can be made well ahead of time and stored either dry or frozen but it’s very fragile so use caution.
Sauteed Vegetables:
4 medium leeks, trimmed
5 large leaves cabbage
about 1/4 cup broccoli florets
1/4 cup butter
-seasoning to taste
Heat a saute pan to medium high heat. Chop all the vegetables to relatively the same size. Drop butter into hot pan and stir to coat pan. Remove from heat and immediately drop in vegetables and toss to coat. Season and return to heat. Stir and toss the vegetables every 40 seconds until they turn bright green, soften slightly, and majority of liquid has cooked off, about 6 minutes. Taste and reseason as needed. Set aside for later use.
Quiche filling:
3 large eggs
2 1/4 whole milk
about 3/4 cup grated cheese
-seasoning to taste
-reserved vegetables
-reserved pie shell
-more cheese as desired for topping
Preheat oven to 325F. Blend the milk, eggs, and any seasoning together until completely smooth. Sprinkle cheese into the pie shell, then top with vegetables, then pour the quiche filling over it all. Top with more cheese and bake until the quiche sets completely. Time will vary according to the depth of the quiche. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan at least 15 minutes before serving.
Store leftover quiche chilled or make ahead and freeze for an easy, local meal.
Happy Eating!