This hearty golden crustless zucchini quiche is filled with smoked ham, ricotta and sharp cheddar cheeses and topped with shredded parmesan. You will find it an excellent dish to serve your family or guests anytime of the day; breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner! You can even make it a gluten-free quiche if you choose to use gluten-free breadcrumbs.

Step 1: INGREDIENTS (for 4 Servings)

1 medium zucchini squash, thinly sliced
1/2 cup (about 4 ounces) of diced smoked ham
1/2 small onion, diced
3 gloves minced fresh garlic (optional)
1 TBS of EVOO (or vegetable or canola oil)
2 whole large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk Ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (or cheese of your choice)
1/4 teaspoon crushed black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal Salt Sense (or sea salt)
1/8 teaspoon (a dash) of freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese
5 TBS Panko seasoned breadcrumbs (or breadcrumbs of choice - even Gluten-free if desired)
2 TBS unsalted butter

Step 2: PREPARATION:

I like to have all of my ingredients ready to use and cook, so I prepare the following items and set them aside so that they can be used as needed:

Mince the garlic
Slice and dice the onions
Dice the ham
Slice the Zucchini (a mandolin comes in handy here); then cut the slices in half (not necessary, but I prefer to do this)
Mix the spices and herbs
Melt the butter and stir in the breadcrumbs
Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl and fold in the ricotta and shredded cheddar cheeses

Step 3: INSTRUCTIONS:

Spray a 9" glass or ceramic pie plate with cooking oil.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.
Add the 1 TBS of cooking oil to a non-stick frying pan or heavy cast iron skillet (my choice) and heat over medium/low heat.
When the oil is hot, add the sliced zucchini and cook until slightly tender, (about 4 to 6 minutes) stirring frequently with a wooden spoon (no need to overcook the squash, it will bake in the casserole for about 1/2 hour).
Add the onions, ham, minced garlic and all of the herbs and spices to the zucchini and cook for an additional 5 or 6 minutes, stirring frequently; then remove pan from heat and let it rest for about 5 minutes.
Fold the zucchini mixture into the egg and cheese mixture and blend thoroughly (be careful; the frying pan or skillet may still be very hot, and if you used a cast iron pan it will also be quite heavy).
Pour the blended ingredients into the greased baking dish and top with the shredded parmesan cheese (first) and then the buttered breadcrumbs (second) - if you put the breadcrumbs in first then top with cheese, the crumbs will become soggy).
Bake the quiche for 35 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the breadcrumbs have become a golden brown and the center of quiche is a bit "jiggly." (Baking time will vary depending on your oven, the type of dish you use and many other factors. Mine took 42 minutes. It was hard for me to decide when the center of the quiche was "jiggly," and I had to remove the dish from oven a couple of times and test it by hand by pressing around the sides and over the top of the quiche to be sure that the sides were set and the center was still just a little "loose.")

Step 4: Time to Eat . . .

Tonight was the perfect night to cook this quiche. It was getting very cold out and the heating oven helped to warm the kitchen!

I enjoyed my big slice of quiche with a toasted Jalapeno-Cheddar-Bacon cornmuffin and a glass of red wine (I would ordinarily drink white wine with this dish, but all I had on had was a delicious Cabernet Sauvignon. C'est la Vie)!

Bon Appetit

Step 5:

I have evaluated the nutritional values of this recipes ingredients to the best of my ability using the MyFitnessPal Recipe Analyzer. Analysis does not include the wine or muffin.