BLT Quiche with Caramelized Cherry Tomatoes & Swiss & Feta Cheese

Did you ever get a recipe in your head???


And just consider the possibilities...


Were you paying attention to yesterday's post?  BLT Spaghetti with Caramelized Cherry Tomatoes.  A new twist on a classic.  As I said yesterday, the caramelizing of the tomatoes, combined with all the extra layers of flavor makes this something special.  The spaghetti made a fun addition, and made a sandwich into a suitable evening meal.  It was a wonderful recipe, but it got me thinking about what else i could do with the basic idea...


This came to me in a dream... really!


Frightening, but I have had a couple of dreams where I ended up with recipes.


Bacon... breakfast food.


Spinach (the lettuce in the BLT Recipe)... A Quiche (breakfast food).


Caramelized Tomatoes... I am setting myself as the Pied Piper of Caramelized Tomatoes.  Listen to me now and believe me later, these are good... Really good!


So, it's to be a quiche!  Take a second and reread yesterday's post.  I went into great detail, with lots of photos to illustrate the way to make the basic.  Here's a short version of the recipe to jog your memory if you have already read the post...

4 strip Bacon, save the drippings, crumble the bacon
1 cup Cherry Tomatoes, quartered
1/2 tsp Sugar
1/2 cup thinly sliced Sweet Onions (Vidalia if possible)
1/4 cup dry White Wine
1/2 cup Chicken Stock
1 tsp Red Wine Vinegar
1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
4 ounces Spaghetti
1 cup Spinach Leaves
1 TBS mixed Italian Herbs
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

Cook the Bacon in a large non-stick pan.  You are going to use this pan for the rest of the recipe, so don't be cheap on the size of the pan.  Discard all but 1 TBS of the drippings.

Add the tomatoes to the bacon drippings, sprinkle the sugar on top and sauté for about 5 minutes.  At the end of 5 minutes, you will see the tomatoes start to brown.  Now, add the onions and sauté for another 5 minutes.
De-glaze the pan with the white wine.  Continue simmering till the wine is reduced by half.  Then add the vinegar and chicken stock and again stir and simmer till the liquid is again reduced by half.

Remove from the heat... Add the herbs and mix well.  Whatever you have fresh, oregano, thyme, rosemary, even dill or parsley.  Add the crumbled bacon, and allow to completely cool.

And while the Caramelized Tomatoes and Onions are cooling, let's start working on the quiche portion...


3 Eggs
1/4 cup Heavy Cream
1 cup shredded Arugula
1 cup shredded Swiss Cheese
1/2 cup Feta Cheese
1 prepared Pie Shell (I cheated a bit, and used a frozen shell, but it came to me in a dream, so I ran to the store and bought a shell to make a quick same morning quiche... Next time, fresh made shell, this time, cheater shell).


Also, the arugula makes an interesting ingredient.  If you have never cooked with it before, it has quite an interesting bite that adds yet one more layer of flavor to the dish.

Whip the eggs, add the cream and whip lightly.


Pour the egg mixture in the pie shell.


Mix in the caramelized Tomatoes, Onions and Bacon, the Arugula and the Swiss Cheese.


Top with the Feta.


Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 40 minutes, until the egg has set.

Real men caramelize tomatoes...


Real men eat this quiche
...