Quiche is a delicious egg custard enveloped in an oh-so-comforting super flaky pie crust. What’s not to love? This recipe uses a simple combination of egg, cream, and milk for the egg custard. Along with a delicious savory addition inside and paired with a super simple pie crust. It is a dish to wow and love. A dish I would be proud to have passed down to many others.
Now quiche can be made in a variety of ways. You can add any type cheese, meat, seafood, or vegetables and it will still taste great. At it’s basics it is a french dish that includes a savory egg custard and a flaky pie crust. So simple and so easy to make better every time with a new flavor.
Quiche Lorraine is probably the most common version of a quiche consisting of bacon lardons and cheese. Today I am doing a similar version with an American/British twist. Smoked bacon with leeks and white cheddar cheese!
Starting the quiche with a crust
To start any quiche, we need a solid go to pie crust recipe. They are unbelievably simple and easy to make. All you need is all purpose flour, cold butter, salt, sugar, and ice water.
So, we start with the butter crust. First preheat your oven to 400°f. Grab a medium sized metal bowl and add your flour, salt, and sugar to it and using a fork mix the ingredients together.
This entire process can be done in a stand mixer at a medium to low speed if preferred as well. I rotate from time to time depending on if i’m feeling like using my hands more.
Now remove your butter from the fridge and cut it into small cubes. It really does not have to be done neatly or precise, just make small pieces. Add the butter to the flour mixture and using your hands, start to crumble the butter into the mixture.
Continue to smush the butter into the flour until it resembles a bunch of tiny pebbles in flour. Take your very cold water and pour half into the mixture. Start working the dough with your hands until all of the water has disappeared into the dough. Add the rest of your water and continue to mix until you are left with a nice dough ball. You can use the dough ball to clean your hands and the bowl of excess dough bits.
Next wrap your dough ball in plastic wrap or parchment paper and let it cool in the fridge for 10 to 15 minutes.
Start the savory filling
While the dough settles in the fridge, we start cooking the bacon and leeks. place a medium sized pan on the stove at medium heat. Slice the bacon into small pieces and add them to the heated pan. stir so that most of the bacon is touching the pan. Cook for 3 minutes to release to fats. Slice and clean your leeks in cold water then add them to the bacon. Reduce heat to a medium-low setting and continue cooking for another 10 minutes or until the leeks have started to caramelize. Remove from the heat to cool.
After it has been at least ten minutes, lightly flour a work surface and place your dough ball onto it. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, slowly work your dough out to a large circle that is about 1/4 inch thick and 12 inches in diameter. When that is done, place your rolling pin at the edge of the circle and roll up your dough around it. This makes it so much easier for transfer.
Grab a 9 inch pie dish (or if you have one, a large false bottom tart/quiche pan) and unroll your dough over it so that it is centered. You can lift the edges once it is on the dish to make tucking the dough into the dish easier.
To make for a nicer crust at the edges, we need to tuck the excess dough that hangs over the edges under itself to make a higher crust. Now you can crimp the edges to make them look fancy or old fashioned, or you can just press them with a fork. Honestly this just does down to preference.
If you have pie weights, that’s great. If you do not, like me, you can just get some dried beans. What we are doing with these is weighing down the center so that it does not bubble up during the pre baking. So place some parchment paper in the middle of your dish over the dough and weigh down that center however you want.
Now place the dish into your oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the dough has just browned slightly.
Once finished, remove your crust from the oven and set to the side to cool.
Time for the full quiche
Now for the egg custard. Combine your eggs, cream, milk, and salt together in a large bowl and whisk until fully combined.
Add the leeks and bacon to the crust and pour the egg mixture over the top until just below the top of the crust. You may have some excess eggs depending on the size of your crust. Just save the excess and add some more egg to make scrambled eggs or an omelette.
Place back into your 400°f oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. take for a little bit longer if it has not started to brown yet. Once lightly browned, remove from the oven and add the cheddar cheese, and place back in the oven for another five minutes. Remove from the oven to let cool for 5 minutes. Cut into 6 to 8 pieces and enjoy!
This dish is a heartwarming and cozy one that can be enjoyed whenever you feel that need for something buttery and savory. Which for me is all of the time. It’s a light feeling comfort food that wins every time!
Bacon, leek, and white cheddar quiche
Equipment
- 1 Whisk
- 1 stand mixer optional
Ingredients
The pie crust
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour 230 grams
- 8 Tbsp cold unsalted butter
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 6 Tbsp ice cold water
The filling
- 6 large eggs
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/4 lb thick cut bacon
- 1 medium sized leek
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 4 oz sharp white cheddar block
Instructions
For the crust
- So, we start with the butter crust. First preheat your oven to 400°f. Grab a medium sized metal bowl and add your flour, salt, and sugar to it and using a fork mix the ingredients together.
- This entire process can be done in a stand mixer at a medium to low speed if preferred as well. I rotate from time to time depending on if i’m feeling like using my hands more.
- Now remove your butter from the fridge and cut it into small cubes. It really does not have to be done neatly or precise, just make small pieces. Add the butter to the flour mixture and using your hands, start to crumble the butter into the mixture.
- Continue to smush the butter into the flour until it resembles a bunch of tiny pebbles in flour. Take your very cold water and pour half into the mixture. Start working the dough with your hands until all of the water has disappeared into the dough. Add the rest of your water and continue to mix until you are left with a nice dough ball. You can use the dough ball to clean your hands and the bowl of excess dough bits.
- Next wrap your dough ball in plastic wrap or parchment paper and let it cool in the fridge for 10 to 15 minutes.
- While the dough settles in the fridge, we start cooking the bacon and leeks. place a medium sized pan on the stove at medium heat. Slice the bacon into small pieces and add them to the heated pan. stir so that most of the bacon is touching the pan. Cook for 3 minutes to release to fats. Slice and clean your leeks in cold water then add them to the bacon. Reduce heat to a medium-low setting and continue cooking for another 10 minutes or until the leeks have started to caramelize. Remove from the heat to cool.
- After it has been at least ten minutes, lightly flour a work surface and place your dough ball onto it. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, slowly work your dough out to a large circle that is about 1/4 inch thick and 12 inches in diameter. When that is done, place your rolling pin at the edge of the circle and roll up your dough around it. This makes it so much easier for transfer.
- Grab a 9 inch pie dish (or if you have one, a large false bottom tart/quiche pan) and unroll your dough over it so that it is centered. You can lift the edges once it is on the dish to make tucking the dough into the dish easier.
- To make for a nicer crust at the edges, we need to tuck the excess dough that hangs over the edges under itself to make a higher crust. Now you can crimp the edges to make them look fancy or old fashioned, or you can just press them with a fork. Honestly this just does down to preference.
- If you have pie weights, that’s great. If you do not, like me, you can just get some dried beans. What we are doing with these is weighing down the center so that it does not bubble up during the pre baking. So place some parchment paper in the middle of your dish over the dough and weigh down that center however you want.
- Now place the dish into your oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the dough has just browned slightly.
- Once finished, remove your crust from the oven and set to the side to cool.
Time for the filling
- Now for the egg custard. Combine your eggs, cream, milk, and salt together in a large bowl and whisk until fully combined.
- Add the leeks and bacon to the crust and pour the egg mixture over the top until just below the top of the crust. You may have some excess eggs depending on the size of your crust. Just save the excess and add some more egg to make scrambled eggs or an omelette.
- Place back into your 400°f oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. take for a little bit longer if it has not started to brown yet. Once lightly browned, remove from the oven and add the cheddar cheese, and place back in the oven for another five minutes. Remove from the oven to let cool for 5 minutes. Cut into 6 to 8 pieces and enjoy!
Comments
3 responses to “A Deceivingly Simple Quiche: Savory Bacon, Leek, and Cheddar”
[…] And the shortcrust pastry dough is not only used in pasties and hand pies, but it is also used to make traditional pies that have open tops such as tarts and fruit pies. Or maybe my scrumptious quiche! […]
[…] Try them out with some mulled wine poached plums or along side my delicious quiche recipe! […]
[…] try a few? Pair it with a nice butternut squash soup or a hearty chicken soup. Maybe alongside a bacon and leek quiche. Try bringing it to a gathering with cowboy caviar or a corn salad […]