Bonjour! Welcome to Chez Charlotte, where tonight we shall be dining on a classic French dish, the humble quiche. And what better way to whip up a French dish perfect for Valentine’s Day than by doing it in the shape of a heart?

Hope you brought your appetite — let’s get to cooking! For years now I’ve been making zucchini quiche for Dear Betrothed and myself. Unrelated to that, last fall I bought a ballin’ heart shaped pan for cakes.

Then the other day I thought to myself, 2 + 2 = … A heart shaped zucchini quiche with a homemade buttery garlic crust instead of the usual pie crust!

Hashtag best of both worlds.

This is a beautiful dish that comes together easily with just a few ingredients. Since I had some whole wheat crackers I wanted to finish off, I decided to test out a new crust, made simply of crushed crackers, minced raw garlic, and melted butter. Top the crust with some sautéed zucchini, shredded mozzarella, and an egg mixture, and we’re good to go. This adorable little tart will bake for 40 minutes.

Crust ingredients:

• 20-30 Wheat Thin crackers, crushed
• 1 head of raw garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp. butter, melted

Quiche ingredients:

• 3 raw zucchini, sliced to 1/4 inch thickness
• 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg whites
• 2/3 cup milk
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

Method:

Preheat the oven to 425. Mix the crust ingredients in a bowl until all crumbs are moistened. Smooth the crumb mixture into the pan. Pre-bake the crust for 10 minutes. After removing the pan, reduce the oven to 350.

Heat the olive oil in a pan on medium heat. Sauté the zucchini until golden brown.

Whisk the eggs, egg whites, milk, and salt.

Layer the zucchini over the crust. Sprinkle the mozzarella over the zucchini. Pour egg mixture evenly around the pan.

Bake for 40 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Bon appétit!