Recipe: Zucchini Italian Sausage Quiche

Zucchini Italian Sausage Quiche
net.cooks/Mary Cowden (1984)

1 (9-inch) unbaked pastry shell
2 Tbsp chopped onion
2 cups shredded zucchini
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 lb. sweet Italian sausage
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
4 eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Bake pastry shell at 450 degrees for 8 minutes. Cool slightly. Saute onion in 2 T butter or margarine and remove from pan.

Add more butter and saute zucchini for 5 minutes. Remove zucchini and drain well. Cook sausage in remaining butter/margarine.

Drain and crumble. Spread zucchini and onion on bottom of pastry shell.

Sprinkle sausage and Swiss cheese over zucchini. Beat eggs lightly.

Mix cream, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.

Pour into pastry shell and sprinkle with nutmeg. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes; reduce to 350 degrees and bake for 10 minutes or until center is firm. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

A FEW HELPFUL HINTS:
The zucchini and sausage can be cooked (separately, of course) in a microwave, thus eliminating the butter/margarine.

The heavy cream can be substituted with light cream or half and half.

The yolks of the 4 eggs can also be eliminated.

All of the above cut down on the fat/cholesterol content in this recipe.

Any leftovers can be frozen. I cut the remaining pie into separate servings and freeze each piece separately.