The classic quiche is an elegant, savory dish that we all know and love. An open-faced crust filled with a custard base that can be dressed up with broccoli and cheese, tomatoes and basil, or in this case, bacon and leeks. The traditional Quiche Lorraine filling is simply eggs, crème fraiche and bacon. I have substituted sour cream for the crème fraiche, and added leeks in with the bacon for a mild oniony flavor and eye pleasing pop of color. To add even a touch more elegance I have pressed the buttery pate brisee dough into a rectangular tart pan instead of a round pie pan. To me there is something so pleasing about the structured form of a tart; in this case, it gives that extra je ne sais quoi to the beloved Quiche Lorraine.
Pate brisee pressed into the tart pan, lined with parchment, and topped with beans to be blind baked
Cooked bacon & leeks spread on the blind baked crust
Prepared quiche, ready to be baked
(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)
Quiche Lorraine Tart
Ingredients:
- 1 store bought pie crust, or homemade pate brisee
- For the pate brisee:
- 1 ½ cups of all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
- 2 Tablespoons to ¼ cup ice water
- For the filling:
- 5 strips of bacon, cut into small pieces
- 1 leek, sliced into half-moons (rinse the leeks to remove any dirt or sand)
- 6 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 4 oz. reduced fat sour cream
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
Directions:
- In the bowl of a food processor pulse the flour and salt to combine. Add in the butter pieces and pulse until the butter is the size of small peas. Slowly add in the water until the dough just begins to come together. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, form into a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and press it into a rectangular tart pan. (Feel free to make this in another shape of tart pan, or even in a round pie plate.)
- Prick the dough with a fork all over its surface. Chill again in the fridge for another 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- To blind bake or pre-bake the crust, line it with parchment paper and fill with either pie weights or dried beans. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile cook the bacon and leeks in a large sauté pan over medium-low heat until the bacon is crisp and the leeks are tender. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs with the sour cream and season with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes.
- Remove the pre-baked crust from the oven and scatter the bacon-leek mixture on the crust. Pour the egg mixture over the bacon-leek mixture and on a baking sheet, bake the tart for 30-35 minutes or until the egg is set.
- Cut into squares and serve warm.
Tagged: bacon, breakfast, brunch, creme fraiche, eggs, leeks, pate brisee, quiche, Quiche Lorraine, sour cream, tart
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