You’ve Seen the One in the Freezer Section, Now Check This
Trader Joe’s has a lot of great convenience foods in its freezer section. But when I saw the Hatch Chile and Corn Quiche in a Tortilla Crust, I thought, hmh, that sounds good. And not to be *that* person, but I bet I could make that. And honestly, the Trader Joe’s one looked small when I finally saw it posted on Instagram. I bet I could eat the whole thing myself. So.
Once Hatch Chiles came in last week, I decided to just give it a go. And the great thing about making it at home is you can actually use hot Hatch chiles and give it some kick. I like more filling than egg, so there’s a generous amount of chiles in this quiche.
A few more notes:
I made this in a shallow 9-inch pie pan. Not the deeper dish type with ruffled edges. You need it to be shallow to let the tortillas create an edge. The eggs will puff while it’s baking and then chill out slightly.
Pick tortillas that are sturdy. I didn’t try the corn/wheat version. You need it to be able to hold up the egg and crisp a little bit.
Yes, I considered doing these as individual servings in a large muffin tin, but you need a sturdy tortilla and they weren’t gonna bend into a muffin tin.
If you’re as much of a chilehead as I am, grab more Hatch chile recipes right here.
Hatch Chile and Roasted Corn Quiche
Inspired by a quiche currently in Trader Joe's freezer section, this recipe is designed for a basic, shallow 9-inch pie tin (NOT A DEEP DISH) with straight edges, no ruffles. The. chiles I used were on the small-to-medium size, so if you use bigger Anaheims, you may only need 3-4.
Ingredients
- 4 sturdy 6-inch corn tortillas (I used Mi Rancho)
- 4-6 Hatch chiles, roasted, seeded and diced (~1.5 c. diced)
- 1/2 c. Trader Joe's Roasted Corn kernels, thawed
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 5 eggs
- 1/4 c. heavy cream
- salt and pepper
- 2 c. Tillamook Mexican 4 Cheese blend, loosely packed
- Canola or vegetable oil spray
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375F.
In a medium bowl, beat together th eggs and cream until fully combined. Season with a pinch of salt and opepper. Set aside.
Warm the tortillas in a damp paper towel in the microwave for 20-30 seconds just to make them pliable.
Spray a shallow 9-inch pie tin with canola spray and arrange the tortillas so they stick up about an inch around the edge of the pan. The centers will overlap.
Layer the chiles, corn, and green onions (in that order) in the pan. Pour over the egg mixture and top with cheese. The pan should not be overflowing.
Bake for 25-30 minutes until the eggs are set and the cheese is melted. If it's not lightly browned, broil until you're satisfied. Don't walk away from it!
