Debbie’s Octopus Quiche

A surprising quiche that is great for brunch on the weekends.

Quiche filling:

• 1/2 an onion, chopped
• 1/2 a colorful bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 half a jalapeno, minced
• 1 cup mushrooms sliced thin
• 2 cups (1 lb.) cooked octopus*, ground or minced fine
• 1 a cup of pepper jack cheese
• 4 eggs
• 1 can of evaporated milk (12 oz.)
• 1/4 cup 2% milk
• Ground black pepper and salt to taste

Dough for crust:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup shortening
• Generous pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup ice cold milk

First prepare the dough for crust at least an hour ahead of time. Cut the shortening into the flour and salt using a pastry blender, fork, or a potato masher until the pieces are roughly pea-sized. Begin adding the milk a little bit at a time and mix until all of the milk is incorporated into the dough. Using your clean hands, form the dough into a compact ball and wrap with some cling wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least 30-45 minutes. After the dough is done chilling, roll the dough out on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin until it is about a 1/4″ thick and about 1.5 inches larger than the pie plate you are using. Gently place the rolled out dough in your pie plate and crimp the edges.

Next saute the chopped onion, peppers, jalapeno and mushrooms with about a tablespoon of butter or olive oil. Sprinkle the veggies with a little kosher salt to help draw out the moisture, and continue to cook on low heat until the onions are translucent and turning golden brown, about 10 minutes.  In a large bowl mix the eggs with one 12 oz. can of evaporated milk, plus 1/4 cup of 2% milk and a 1/2 a generous pinch of kosher salt. In the crust begin to layer your quiche starting with half the vegetables, then half of your chopped or ground octopus, half a cup of grated pepper jack cheese. Repeat the vegetable and octopus layers ending with the other half cup cheese. Pour the egg and milk mixture over the filling. Shake a few shakes of paprika or cayenne on top depending on your taste. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes turn down to 300 for 30 minutes or until knife comes out clean. Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes.

*First boil the octopus legs whole in salted water for 30 minutes. Once it has been cooked, drain out the water and let the legs cool slightly until you can handle them. When they are cooler but still warm you can remove both the skin and the suckers by just using your hands to peel it off.

**My mom prefers her quiche with the texture of ground octopus. If you own a meat grinder, running the cooked legs through one can be both quick and easy. I however do not own a meat grinder (yet), and so I would settle for using a sharp butcher’s knife and dicing the octopus as fine as I could get it.