The quiches are from Lindsay and Taylor’s book Breakfast for Dinner, which was the first book I turned to when I wanted a breakfast-for-breakfast recipe. The phyllo cups are easily baked in a muffin tin, then filled with grated zucchini and a pesto-and-egg-custard mixture. Not exactly health food, but at least there’s a little bit of green in there. We all devoured them, along with the waffles and mimosas, and afterwards it was pretty hard to resist falling into bed for a three-hour nap. It was the best kind of Sunday. And the best kind of weekend.

A Weekend with Friends // Zucchini-Pesto Mini Quiches in Phyllo Cups

A Weekend with Friends // Zucchini-Pesto Mini Quiches in Phyllo Cups

Zucchini-Pesto Mini Quiches in Phyllo Cups

Serves 4-6.

  • 1/4 lb. packaged phyllo, thawed in the fridge
  • 4 TBS butter, melted
  • 1 TBS olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
  • 1 small zucchini, washed and roughly grated
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/2 c. heavy cream
  • 3/4 c. pesto, store-bought or homemade
  • salt and black pepper, to taste
  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Brush regular muffin tin cups with some melted butter. Carefully unroll phyllo dough and cut sheets into 4-inch squares, keeping the sheets stacked together. Gently place one square into each muffin tin, pressing down to line the tin. Do this carefully, but don’t worry if some squares rip – the other layers will cover them up. Brush these squares with more melted butter, then layer another square of phyllo on top, again pressing down. Repeat one or two times more, until tins are fully covered. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until bottoms of cups are slightly puffed and dough is golden. Remove from oven and let cool at least 5 minutes before filling (leaving them in the muffin tins).
  2. Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and saute for 1 minute, then add the grated zucchini and saute for 2-3 minutes longer, until the pan is mostly dry. Remove from heat.
  3. In a medium bowl, beat together eggs and heavy cream. Stir in the pesto. Season with salt and black pepper.
  4. Place a small spoonful of zucchini in each phyllo cup. Spoon 2-3 TBS of the egg-pesto mixture on top of the zucchini. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until egg mixture is set and slightly puffed. Carefully remove from muffin tins and serve.

Dining and Cooking