Chicken Taco Quiche

Dia de los Muertos. Year 7. The ofrenda is Sofia's masterpiece — she spent three days building it this year, arranging the photographs, the marigolds, the candles, the food offerings. The photographs: Alejandro, Carmen, Rosario, Tia Laura. And this year, a new addition: a photograph of Captain Diaz, the man who mentored me at Station 19, who retired in 2018 and died in June 2022 of a heart attack at sixty-seven. The man who taught me that the job is ninety percent boredom and ten percent terror. The man who showed me that leadership is presence. He belongs on the ofrenda. He earned his place at the table.

I told Sofia about Captain Diaz while we built the altar. How he took a young firefighter with no experience and turned him into someone who could lead. How he never raised his voice. How his silence was louder than anyone's shouting. She listened with the gravity she brings to important things and then she said, "What food did he like?" I said, "He liked my green chile stew." She placed a small bowl of green chile stew on the ofrenda, next to the pozole for the ancestors and the Hot Cheetos for Tia Laura. The dead are fed. All of them. The family dead and the firehouse dead. The love does not discriminate.

Roberto sat with the ofrenda for a long time on November 1st. He is sixty-four. The dead on the altar are getting closer to his age. Alejandro died at fifty-eight. Carmen at sixty-four — Roberto's current age. He sat and looked at the candles and I could see him doing the arithmetic that all aging men do: how much time? how many more Sundays? how many more cookouts? I sat next to him. I did not speak. I held space. Firefighters are good at holding space. We stand in burning buildings and hold space for the people who need to get out. Sometimes holding space means standing next to your father in a living room and saying nothing while the candles flicker and the dead watch.

Elena made mole negro — Rosario's recipe, the annual tribute. I helped more this year than last. My hands are learning the mole. My hands are starting to remember what Elena's hands do. Someday — a day I do not want to think about, a day that is approaching whether I think about it or not — these hands will be the only ones who know the recipe. I am not ready for that. But I am learning. That is enough for now.

After the ofrenda was built and the candles were lit — after the green chile stew was placed for Captain Diaz and Elena’s mole negro filled the kitchen with Rosario’s memory — the living still needed to eat. That’s something people forget about grief and remembrance: the living get hungry too. I made this Chicken Taco Quiche because it’s warm and simple and it feeds a room full of people who have been standing in the presence of their dead all day and need something grounding. Sofia had seconds. Roberto had thirds. The dead were honored. The living were fed.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 40 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour | Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 unbaked deep-dish pie crust (9 inches)
2 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded
1 tablespoon taco seasoning
1 cup shredded Mexican-blend cheese
1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
4 large eggs
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup salsa
1/4 cup sliced black olives
1/4 cup diced green chiles
2 green onions, sliced
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
Sour cream, for serving
Fresh cilantro, for garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven. Heat oven to 375°F. Place the pie crust in a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate and crimp the edges. Prick the bottom with a fork and pre-bake for 8 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Season the chicken. Toss the shredded chicken with taco seasoning and cumin until evenly coated.
Layer the filling. Spread the seasoned chicken evenly over the bottom of the pre-baked crust. Top with Mexican-blend cheese, pepper jack cheese, black olives, and diced green chiles.
Make the custard. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, half-and-half, salsa, and salt until well combined. Pour the mixture evenly over the layered filling.
Bake. Place quiche on a baking sheet and bake at 375°F for 35 to 40 minutes, until the center is set and the top is golden brown. A knife inserted near the center should come out clean.
Rest and serve. Let the quiche cool for 10 minutes before slicing. Top with sliced green onions, a dollop of sour cream, and fresh cilantro.

Nutrition (per serving)

Chicken Taco Quiche — What We Cook When the Dead Are Fed and the Living Still Need to Eat