Apple, Leek & Bacon Quiche
A quiche is always a satisfying meal. Whether you enjoy a quiche for breakfast, brunch, post workout snack or dinner, this quiche will satisfy all your cravings. With not one, but two, varieties of local Ontario apples. Honeycrisp on the bottom and Ambrosia on top. Crispy bacon, tender leeks cooked in the bacon drippings, creamy, salty, and nutty Gruyère cheese. The flavours are harmonious, with each ingredient making the last one better. Also, this is a great dish to make the day before and reheat it when you are ready to eat.
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 ¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup cold unsalted butter cubed
- 6 tablespoons ice water (90 ml)
- 1 egg
Filling
- ½ pound of bacon slices about 6 slices
- 1 large leek thinly sliced on a mandolin, white and light green parts only, washed, and dried
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 6 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups grated Gruyère cheese
- 2 Ontario Ambrosia apples thinly slice circles on a mandolin (seeds & tough centre parts removed)
- 2 Ontario Honeycrisp apple thinly slice circles on a mandolin (seeds & tough centre parts removed)
- 2 teaspoons of fresh thyme leaves chopped if large leaves, divided
- Salt and pepper
Garnish
- Microgreens optional
Instructions
Crust
- Add the flour and baking powder to a food processor, pulse to combine. Then add the butter and pulse, until the butter is the size of peas. Next add the water and egg, then pulse until the dough begins to form. If needed, add more ice water, 1 teaspoon at a time. Remove the dough and use you hands to form a disc.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a 15 to 16-inch circle. Drape the dough over a 12.5" x 1" fluted tart/quiche pan. Take the excess dough and fold inward, to double the thickness of the sides and use your fingers to press the dough together. Using a fork, prick the bottom of the crust from side to side. Put the crust in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Place an oven rack in a position 3 to 4-inces from the bottom of the oven and preheat to 375 °F.
Filling
- While the crust is in the fridge, cook the bacon slices until crisp. Set aside to cool, then chop into small bits. Add the leeks to the bacon dripping and cook on medium-low until soft. Drain the bacon dripping, Let cool, then chop into smaller pieces.
- In a bowl, whisk the eggs, then add the cream and whisk until combined. Add in the bacon, leeks, cheese and 1 teaspoon of thyme. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine.
- Layer the Honeycrisp apple slices in the bottom of the crust, overlapping each slice by about half, until the bottom is covered.
- Pour the egg mixture into the crust. Then layer the Ambrosia apple slices, to create a single circle around the outside of the quiche near the crust. Overlap each slice by about half. Then sprinkle the apples with the remaining teaspoon of thyme leaves.
- Place the quiche in the oven and bake for about 45 minutes or until the quiche is lightly browned and the eggs seem set. Let the quiche stand for about 10 minutes before serving.
- When ready to serve garnish with microgreens.
Video
Notes
Have you ever tried an Ontario Apple Sampling? We headed to the store, looked for the Foodland Ontario logo and picked up Ambrosia, Honeycrisp and Gala apples. Check out how we like to sample Ontario apples at home in the video above.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!