This no-tofu Vegan Quiche w/ Zucchini, Corn, Peppers is so rich and flavorful, that you’ll forget that it’s vegan!

I miss eggs. There! I said it!!! I miss the ease and comfort of eggs on a Saturday morning! I miss all the amazing breakfasts in my life that centered around eggs. Eggs and cheese, but we’ll do cheese another day. Today, is all about the eggs. Sure, early vegans in their infinite wisdom have found a way to substitute eggs with chickpeas and ground flaxseed and banana and applesauce in baked goods, but I miss the unmistakably jiggly texture of warm eggs in the morning. Don’t even get me started on a runny yolk running down toast. *tears!*

It all began the weekend before last when for no apparent reason, I was reminded of how much I miss eggs and since that thought crept into my head, try as I did, I couldn’t get rid of it. It was quiches that I craved, why I cannot say. In fact, I think I’ve had quiches just once or twice in my whole life, but suddenly it was all I wanted in my life to feel happy again.

So obviously, I went to the internet to see if someone else had already found the answer to my problem. Sadly, all the solutions for a vegan quiche began with one unappetizing word: tofu. I can totally see the texture working out, but I have yet to come to terms with the flavor of soy on Saturday morning. I went to my drawing board and began to list down all the possible ingredients  (besides tofu) that could make it work.

I remembered this eggless custard (woah! there’s an oxymoron for you!) I grew up eating. It was made with Brown and Polsen’s Vanilla Custard powder that you boiled with whole milk and refrigerate to create a jiggly custard, set to perfection. It was absolutely stellar when served chilled in the summer with fresh mangoes; the perfect balance of creamy, fragrant, sweet and tang. The main ingredient of this magical custard powder was cornstarch. Would the same concept work for a quiche too??? It was just mad enough to warrant a try, and I have a thing for crazy ideas that are too good to be true.

I am so glad that I did give it a try because this one was a phenomenal success. It had the jiggle and everything when it came out of the oven, and after leaving it alone for a few minutes to cool down, set to a perfect custard, smelling like Italian herbs basking under the sun. And the crust, ugh! Buttery crisp, melt-in-your-mouth and not soggy at all!!!!

I thickened the coconut milk filling with cornstarch and chickpea flour. Why? While the cornstarch does its job invisibly, I felt that the nuttiness of the chickpea flour would add to the flavor profile of the dish, besides lending a touch of golden sheen to the quiche, the color that usually comes from the yolk.

While the crust is blind baking in the oven, roast the vegetables. Make sure that you roast them, uncovered, in a way that the skin begins to sear and char here and there, but some of the pieces still retain their crunch. Your best bet is to chop them rather chunkily to attain that tightrope balance between soggy and crunchy.

While the vegetables are cooling down just a tad, make the eggless and dairy-free vegan quiche filling. This one is a cake walk. You add all the ingredients to a bowl/measuring pitcher (hopefully with a spout for a no-mess experience while pouring) and whisk to break up the lumps in the cornstarch and chickpea flour, of which there will be plenty to begin with. But hopefully by the time you’ve whisked them into submission, it’ll be a smooth and creamy concoction that pours in a smooth and steady stream.

What else now, but bake!

While the entire thing should take you little more than an hour from start to finish when done efficiently, I’d still break the job into two parts: blind bake the crust the night before, roasting the vegetables and baking the morning of, for a seamless brunch experience unmarred by pastry rolling and constant oven manning.

And for more flavor infusion, toss a sprig of rosemary or thyme on top of that quiche before it goes into the oven. Let your home swirl in a delicious and soothing aroma, a teaser-of-sorts, if you will, as you wait for your quiche to be ready. When it does, after allowing it a few moments to set as it cools, slice in and savor the eggless, dairy-free Vegan Quiche that’s soft, creamy, luscious, jiggly and more!

When you make this delicious delicious Vegan Quiche (which I really think you SHOULD!), be sure to SHARE YOUR PHOTOS with me through Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. I’d love to see what you cook from here!