(The Best Ever) Grilled Halloumi and Sun-dried Tomato Quiche Recipe - The Effortless Chic (2024)

Let's begin by talking about something that has nothing to do with a sun-dried tomato quiche recipe and everything to do with the world we all live in, this Lentenseason (if that's something you celebrate), and something that's been on my mind lately. Fear.It's not something that has colored my world very much at all until more recently. I was hardly a reckless kid. (That was my younger sister.) I never broke a bone and never visited a hospital, but I also don't recall very often making decisions out of fear. I never struggled with anxiety. Public speaking never bothered me, nor did the idea of moving to Los Angeles after school where I knew zero people, or starting off on my own styling business at the ripe old age of 27. I've always been of the "things will always work out" mentality. As I've gotten older, though, I see it creep in. I hear it's whispers when I think about being away from Parker or this flight we are about to take 30,000 feet above the Atlantic. When did that start happening? I even think about it now relative to finances and what we are saving and investing and retirement. I can see it so vividly when I think about our disjointed and tumultuous political landscape. This fear of the unknown. This fear of what is different. People grasping at every straw and political maneuver to try and control it. To try to make their world feel safer and more secure. I was in barre class the day after the London attack near Parliament, trying to forget about my shaking abs whilst holding a plank for what I'm sure is far too long, and remembered a headline I had read that morning: Parliament was still in session and they would not be moved by fear. That's what these people who incite acts of terror are after, after all, isn't it? To incite fear? To make our decisions for us, change what our day to day might look like. Where we might travel. The choices we make for our family. It made me think, when was the last time that I was fearful and it served me well? My mind came up blank. But how often are we fearful and it causes us to miss out? To miss out on opportunity or the present or just peace and joy and happiness? If you query the thesaurus about the opposite of fear, you'll find words like confidence and peace and calmness and ease. Yea, that sounds more like it. It sounds like a far better way than fear. So I'm making a conscious effort to go with those for now and I'll let you know how that goes. And if you're one who celebrates Easter, who celebrates hope winning over fear, then I highly recommend this grilledhalloumi and sun-dried tomato quiche recipe with homemade pie crusts. (Promise me you won't skimp on the homemade crust-- it's the best part and always so much easier and less time consuming than it sounds.) Also, if you're not yet familiar with halloumi, meet your new favorite cheese...

Grilled Halloumi and Sun-dried Tomato Quiche Recipe

(Makes six 4" mini quiche, adapted from Diane, A Broad)

Ingredients:

• The most delicious and easiest pie crust recipe ever from Smitten Kitchen (You will only use half, save the rest for a rainy day.)
• 4 eggs
• ¾ c. half and half
• ½ lb. halloumi cheese sliced just under ½" in thickness and grilled either on a grill or stove top griddle pan, then chopped into1" rectangles
• ½ c. chopped sun-dried tomatoes, the dry kind that come in a bag, not the kind that come packed in oil.
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme

Method for Grilled Halloumi and Sun-dried Tomato Quiche Recipe:

Heat the oven to 375°F.

Using your homemade pie crust, roll the dough out and cut out circles large enough to fit your 4-inch tart pans or tart pan of your choosing. Make sure to make them wider than the pan itself so that there is ample dough to fold up over the edges. (We used these tart pans from Williams-Sonoma.) Press the pie dough into the 4-inch tart pans and press down around the edges with your fingers. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Remove the tart shells from the refrigerator and cover each with a square of parchment paper or aluminium foil. Fill with pie weights or beans and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the tart shells look dry but are not yet quite browned. Remove the pie weights and parchment or foil.

In a bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, a pinch of salt and pepper and whisk.

In your pie shells, add chopped sun-dried tomatoes and your grilled halloumi cheese. Then top with the egg mixture and a sprinkle of the chopped fresh thyme.

Bake for 15-25 minutes, depending on how done you like your eggs. (They will continue to cook slightly once you pull them out, so be sure to not over cook them.)

Photography by Katie Jameson

Tart Pans via Williams-Sonoma || BrassBowls, Plates, and Napkins from Kettle and Brine || Whisk from Target || Flatware from West Elm