Heaven in an oven dish: Scallop and Camembert bread quiche



Scallop and Camembert bread quiche

Imagine it: thick cubes of bread steeped in a custard redolent with the luscious, heady scent of scallops, topped with wedges of Camembert and baked until it all oozes with succulence. It's an early call, but I am thinking this is a sure contender for Recipe of the Year!

The original recipe was in an ad for Megmilk Snow brand dairy products in the pre-Christmas December 17, 2011 issue of Orange Page. It is lovely and celebratory, but also ticks the thrifty boxes required for the Kechi (miserly) Cooking Month kick I am on after the Christmas-New year blowout. A few scallops will go a long way baked into a quiche like this : ).

I used scallops with the roe attached, although the recipe calls for the white muscle meat only.

In Japan, the local Camembert sold in supermarkets comes in 100 g wheels, which can be cut into nice little triangles to top the quiche with.

Scallop and Camembert bread quiche

Serves 4-5

200 g Camembert cheese (2 wheels of Japanese Camembert)
2 slices of thick-cut bread
12 scallops
7 eggs
190 ml milk
4 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely sliced
1 bunch (around 200 g) spinach
4 tbsp white wine

1 Heat the oven to 180 degrees C. Cut each wheel of cheese into 12 triangles. Quarter the scallops. Cut the bread into 9 cubes per slice. Wash the spinach, drain and cut into 4 cm lengths.

2 Line the bottom of a large oven-proof dish with the bread cubes. Break the eggs into a large bowl and whisk with a fork. Add the milk and Parmesan cheese and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Mix again and pour enough of the mixture over the bread to cover it. Set aside for a few minutes to allow the bread to absorb the egg mixture.

3  Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Fry the onion until soft. Add the spinach and scallops and stir to combine. Pour over the wine, stir and season with salt and black pepper. Spoon the mixture on top of the egg-soaked bread, then top with Camembert triangles placed randomly. Pour over the remaining egg mixture and bake for 35-45 min, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the quiche comes out clean.

(Adapted from a recipe in the December 17, 2011 issue of Orange Page)

Enjoy!