Food Recipe: Filipino-Style Quiche with Longganisa and Hash Brown Crust (French-Filipino Fusion Recipe)

Quiche (pronounced keesh) is a French dish. Merriam-Webster defines quiche as “a pie made with eggs, milk, cheese, and vegetables or meat.” It is an open-faced pie. The word quiche comes from the Lorraine Franconian word küeche, meaning “cake.” Lorraine Franconian is a French dialect.

Nevertheless, just because quiche is French does not mean it cannot be infused with Filipino flavor. Below is my brother’s original quiche recipe, which is a fusion of French and Filipino cuisine. Enjoy! (Recipe by Randal San Miguel)

Click image to enlarge

FOR THE CRUST (Hash Brown):
3 medium-sized potatoes
Peel the potatoes and shred them, the same way you make hash browns. Then place the shredded potatoes in iced water for at least 5 minutes to remove the starch. Afterwards, squeeze the liquid out of the potatoes and place them on a dry paper towel to drain the remaining water.

FOR THE QUICHE MIXTURE:

(a) Longganisa mixture

• Oil (for sautéing)
• 2 to 3 whole longganisa (diced)
• Equal parts of diced eggplant, tomatoes, onions, and spinach (about 50 grams each)
• (If the spinach is fresh, boil it first for 2 minutes and cut into shreds. If the spinach is canned, just sauté it with the onions and tomatoes.)

(b) Egg, cream, and cheese mixture

• 3 whole eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 cup of all-purpose cream
• 1 teaspoon of thyme
• 1/2 cup of your choice of cheese (grated or shredded)
• You may use Gruyère, Emmental, Cheddar, Swiss, Parmigiano, goat cheese, or anything except mozzarella.

Directions:

1. Whisk the eggs with the cream, cheese, and thyme. Set aside. 
2. Sauté the onions, tomatoes, eggplant, and spinach in a frying pan or skillet, and add the diced longganisa. 
3. Add salt and pepper to taste. 
4. Remove from the pan and mix this with the egg, cream, and cheese mixture. 
5. Preheat the oven to 425°F or 220°C. 
6. On a 9-inch pie plate, place the shredded potatoes and form a pie crust. 
7. Bake the pie crust until it turns almost golden brown or is cooked throughout. 
8. Then place the longganisa mixture inside the pie.
9. Reduce the heat to 150°C or 300°F and bake for 5 minutes.

That’s it! Bon appétit — or I should say, “Kainan na!”

Reminders: Make sure there is no gap in your potato crust; otherwise, the mixture will spill. But if you are using a pie dish that has a vertical border, this will not be a problem.

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References 
"Quiche," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiche, accessed 02/23/2014
"Quche," http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quiche, accessed 02/23/2014