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Red Pepper and Zucchini Quiche

A quiche with a cornmeal crust filled with sautéed red peppers, zucchini, onion, garlic, tofu, and basil.

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Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Red Pepper and Zucchini Quiche

Oven400°F, then 350°F
Time35 to 45 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the crust

  1. In a large bowl, mix flour, cornmeal, sugar and salt with a fork.

  2. Gradually stir in 1/3 cup olive oil. With your fingertips, blend mixture until crumbly.

  3. Sprinkle in 3 tablespoons cold water, tossing with a fork until mixture clumps together.

  4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Push with the heel of your hand several times to knead, then press dough into a disk.

  5. Preheat oven to 400°F.

  6. Coat a 9½‑inch round tart pan with removable bottom with cooking spray.

  7. Overlap two sheets of plastic wrap on the work surface to make a 24×18‑inch rectangle. Unwrap dough and center it on the plastic wrap. Cover with two more sheets of overlapping plastic wrap.

  8. Roll out dough into a rough 11½‑inch circle. Discard the top sheets of plastic wrap.

  9. Lift the bottom sheets of plastic and dough onto a rolling pin. Carefully position the rolling pin and dough over the prepared pan; unroll dough into the pan. Discard the remaining plastic wrap.

  10. Gently press dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Run the rolling pin over the rim to trim edges; use trimmings to patch the crust if necessary.

  11. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

  12. Pierce the bottom of the crust in several places with a fork. Place a large piece of parchment paper or foil on the crust; fill with pie weights or dried beans.

  13. Place the tart on a baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes. Remove the paper and weights and bake until the crust begins to turn golden, 10 to 12 minutes more.

  14. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack.

Make the filling

  1. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.

  2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 teaspoons olive oil over medium‑high heat. Add onion and ½ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring often, until softened but not browned, 2 to 3 minutes.

  3. Add bell peppers, zucchini and garlic and cook, stirring, until the vegetables have wilted and most of the liquid has evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes.

  4. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and cool completely.

  5. In a food processor, puree tofu. Add egg, mustard, pepper and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt and process until very smooth, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides of the work bowl with a rubber spatula.

  6. Add the tofu mixture to the bowl with vegetables; add basil and stir until well blended.

Bake and serve

  1. Pour the filling into the cooled crust, spreading evenly. Sprinkle with pine nuts.

  2. Bake the quiche until the filling has just set, 35 to 45 minutes.

  3. Set the tart pan over a large can; carefully remove the side of the pan. With two metal spatulas, lift the quiche and place it on a large serving platter. Cut into wedges.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1073Calories
35 gProtein
45 gFat
136 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 14 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Pine Nut1 oz (28g)191
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Tofu100g firm76
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Red Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Cucumber1/2 cup sliced (52g)16
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Basil5 leaves fresh (2.5g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,665 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  3. Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  4. Garlic + mustardtop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together4,053 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  5. Onion + mustardtop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,259 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Flour
Forms the structure of the crust once mixed with water and oil.
Olive oil
Adds fat that keeps the crust tender and helps the vegetables soften and brown.
Silken tofu
Gives the filling a smooth, creamy body that sets without dairy.
Egg
Binds the filling and sets it into a sliceable custard.
Zucchini
Adds moisture to the filling, which cooking partly evaporates first.
Red bell peppers
Add sweetness and color, and release moisture when cooked down.

The step that matters

Cook the vegetables until most of the liquid evaporates. Zucchini and peppers release a lot of water. If it stays in the filling, the custard can turn watery and fail to set firmly, so the vegetables should be cooked down and cooled before mixing.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, onion, pepper, garlic, tofu, egg, mustard):

  1. Capersfits better
  2. Turmericfits better
  3. Cuminfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, onion, pepper, garlic, tofu, egg, mustard. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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