Plantain And Sofrito Collaborative Quiche
Makes one 9-inch quiche
One prepared or homemade 9-inch pie crust
One large, medium-ripe plantain (medium-brown, but not too soft and blackened), sliced
Vegetable oil, for frying (you’ll need about 1 inch of oil in your pan)
1/4 cup sweet onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped finely
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
2 tablespoons tomato paste (or substitute one large tomato, seeded and diced)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
4 eggs
3/4 cup half-and-half or milk
salt and pepper to tasteFry the plantains: Heat a good inch or two of oil in a pan, drop in the plantains, and fry, turning once, until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
Make the sofrito: Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan. Sauté the onions, garlic and bell pepper until they start to soften. Add the tomato paste and cumin, stir, and cook till the veggies are tender, about 5 minutes more. Take off the heat, throw in the chopped cilantro, season with salt and pepper and let cool slightly.
Assemble the quiche: Beat eggs and milk together in a large bowl. When the plantains and sofrito are no longer hot (i.e., cool enough to avoid curdling the eggs), stir everything together, season with salt and pepper and pour into the pie crust.
Bake the quiche in a 375-degree oven for about 40 minutes, or until the center is set.
Originally published in “Collective Quiche Goes Pan-Latin”
