Scrumptious is the best way to describe this. I always make two of them for parties and events, one with smoked ham and one without for the vegetarians. I once had a guest from France tell me this was the best quiche he has ever had outside of France – I failed to tell him it was my family recipe from Switzerland – LOL.
This quiche is even better the second day, so make it the day before for a party or event and simply reheat in the oven.
Leek Quiche
Prep. 40 min.
Ingredients
Crust:
6 tablespoons cold Unsalted Butter cut in into small cubes.
3½ tablespoons cold Vegetable Shortening
1½ cups all-purpose Flour
⅓ teaspoons Salt
3-4 tablespoons Cold Water
Filling:
2 Leeks (mid-size) – finely diced
1 large Onion – finely chopped
2 Cloves Garlic – finely chopped
2 Eggs
½ cup grated Parmesan
½ cup grated Gruyere Cheese (imported from Switzerland)
½ cup Heavy Whipping Cream
2 tablespoons Oil
¼ teaspoon Salt
¼ teaspoon Pepper
Optional: Finely cut smoked ham or cooked bacon
Instructions
To prepare crust:
Butter one 9.5 inch tart pan.
In a large bowl stir together Flour and Salt. Add cold Butter and Shortening and using a metal whisk push the pieces into the flower mixture over and over until it breaks up into smaller flour coated bits. Using a pastry blender, fork or your fingers cut the butter and shortening into small coarse crumbs. I rub the butter chunks into the flour with my fingers until it breaks up, I do this over and over until it is evenly crumbled into the flour. Drizzle the cold water over the dough one tablespoon at a time until it is evenly moist and begins to clump together. You might not need all of the water. If one section of the dough becomes too sticky then rotate it to a section that has more flour, or add a bit more flour.
Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and gently roll into a ball. Using a rollin pin roll the dough into a flat circle about ¾ inch thick. Gently lift the flattened crust (I use a spatula to separate it from the work surface) and set into the tart pan. Gently push tart into the edges of the pan using your fingers to push the dough into a pretty edge, tear off overflow and use this extra for where the edge crust might be too thin elsewhere. Once complete cover with aluminum foil, add dried beans or pie weights and set in freezer for 30-60 min to chill.
Preheat oven to 400° and bake chilled tart crust for 15-20 minutes until crust is slightly dried out but not cooked all the way.
To prepare filling:
Preheat oven to 325°
Chop leek, onions and garlic and sautee in 2 tablespoons oil on medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Cover pan with top and simmer at low heat for about 10-15 minutes then remove pan from heat to cool.
In a large bowl whisk Eggs, Whipping Cream, Parmesan, Gruyere, Salt and Pepper. Once combined mix this batter into leek onion mixture, add optional ham or bacon here. Pour this combined mixture into your prepared crust and bake for about 30-40 minutes until the edges are golden and center of the quiche is set. Allow to cool for 10 min then remove from tart pan and serve. Pairs well with a Pear Endive Salad Enjoy!
Notes
For the crust I chop the butter into small cubes and scoop the shortening into tablespoons, put them together in a small bowl and allow to chill in the freezer for 10 min before using.