quiche Archives - The Midnight Baker

Leek And Stilton Quiche

Judith Hannemann — Wed, 05 Feb 2020 00:00:24 +0000

Not your usual quiche. This one has the great savory flavors of leeks and Stilton cheese. Leek and Stilton quiche is the perfect dinner for a Valentine’s Day date night.

Quiche With Leek And Stilton

Quiche was all the rage back in the 70s. Everyone seemed to be eating it as well as making jokes about it. Eventually it stopped being super popular but it never really went away.

One reason it may have ceased to be so popular is that it is definitely not a diet dish. It’s very rich and calorie packed. However, there’s really no other way to do it.

It is a dish to be enjoyed albeit on an occasional basis. Because of it’s richness a smaller portion does satisfy. Rather than the standard swiss cheese, bacon, spinach combo, this leek and stilton quiche gets it’s marvelous flavor from those two ingredients.

Stilton Cheese: A British Favorite

Second to cheddar, there is no cheese more British than Stilton.

It’s a blue mold cheese much like bleu cheese. In fact, if you cannot find Stilton in your store–and it’ll be in the gourmet cheese section–you can definitely substitute bleu cheese or Gorgonzola cheese. The flavors of those cheeses are all similar. I find that it’s not so much the flavor that varies as it is the texture. Stilton is a lot creamier than Gorgonzola or bleu cheese. So for an eating cheese, I prefer Stilton to the others. However, in this leek and Stilton quiche, it makes little difference which one you use and you don’t use much.

Perfect Pastry

The crust for this quiche is pretty simple and it’s prepared in the food processor. As an aside, the pastry can be made with bread flour (also known as strong flour in UK). I used all-purpose (plain flour in UK) simply because I had no bread flour and it came out fine, so use what you want.

In order to get a perfect looking crust, you can follow the video in my Caramel Crumb Peach Pie. In fact, you might want to switch entirely to a deep tart pan for making all your pies. I have so now every slice is perfect.

The Recipe

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Leek and Stilton Quiche

An updated British staple that uses their famous Stilton cheese.

Prep Time30

Cook Time40

Course: Brunch, Main, Main Course, vegetarian dishes

Cuisine: British

Keyword: leek and stilton quiche recipe, quiche, savory pies, valentine's day dinner

Servings: 8

Calories: 561kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

Pastry:

8 oz flour
4½ oz butter
1 egg
1 tbs water

Filling:

1 tbs olive oil
2 leeks thinly sliced
2 sticks celery thinly sliced
4 eggs
2 cups heavy cream
5½ oz Stilton cheese coarsely grated
2 tbs chopped parsley
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400F/200C.
Place the flour and butter into a food processor and pulse until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Add the egg and water and pulse until it just begins to ball up.
Roll out on a lightly floured surface and transfer to a 11-in/28cm deep quiche pan. Press up along the rim them prick with a fork. Chill for 15 minutes.
Line the pastry with parchments and pie weights (I use dry beans) and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the weights and paper and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until just cooked and pale golden. Remove crust from the oven. Reduce oven temp to 350F/180C.
To make filling: heat the oil in a large skillet then add the leeks and celery and saute over high heat for a few minutes.
Lover the heat, cover and simmner for 25 minutes or until veggies are tender. Remove cover and increase heat to high to evaporate any accumulated liquid.
Beat the eggs and cream together in a medium bowl. Whisk in the salt and pepper.
Spread the cooked leeks and celery evenly on the bottom of the crust. Top with the cheese and parsley. Pour the custard over the top.
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden and just set on top. Let the quiche stand for 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Notes

Gorgonzola or bleu cheese may be substituted if you cannot find Stilton.

Nutrition

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English Quiche

Judith Hannemann — Fri, 15 Jan 2016 00:00:01 +0000

Hearty stick-to-the-ribs breakfast quiche based on a “full English.” Easy and no-fuss.

Full English

Here’s a satisfying breakfast that’s very easy to make!

Anyone familiar with a full-English breakfast knows that it more or less conforms to the old saying about daily meals. At breakfast you eat like a king, at lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper. The English breakfast does vary somewhat by what region of the country you are in, but the basic components are bacon, eggs, tomatoes and sausage. Some regions add baked beans, where others will include broiled lamb kidneys (no thanks).

Our sausage in the US is different to the British variety. The latter are flavored differently and the closest substitute here in the states is cook-before-eating bratwurst–at least to my taste. But in this quiche, plain old brown-and-serve of our variety will do just fine.

We only sell one variety of bacon here. In UK it’s sold as “streaky bacon,” but the Brits have lots of different varieties of bacon and it’s available smoked or unsmoked. Canadian bacon is a good substitute for what they call gammon. Usually back bacon is the bacon of choice for the English breakfast. It’s something like ours, but with a bigger portion of lean meat. I wish we had those varieties here–meaning easily available because some specialty shops do sell it. However, our bacon is very flavorful and perfect in this quiche.

This dish is very easy to assemble. The crust is merely the store-bought ready-made crusts, so you just pat it in the pan.

Instead of the usual Swiss cheese, this uses a very sharp cheddar, which is pretty close to it’s English counterpart.

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The Recipe

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English Quiche

Hearty stick-to-the-ribs breakfast quiche based on a “full English.” Easy and no-fuss.

Prep Time20

Cook Time35

Total Time55

Course: Breakfast, Brunch, lunch

Cuisine: American

Keyword: quiche

Servings: 4 -6

Calories: 782kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 ready-made pie crust
3 eggs
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
pinch of thyme
1 1/2 cups extra-sharp shredded cheddar cheese
5 slices cooked bacon chopped
4 brown-and-serve sausages thawed and cut into 1/4-inch slices (optional)
1 to mato sliced
2 tbsp panko breadcrumbs optional

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Press pie crust into a 9-inch quiche pan, cutting off excess.
Either prick the bottom of the crust with a fork or line it with parchment or aluminum foil and cover the bottom of the foil with pie weights (I use dry beans for this).
Bake the crust for 20 minutes; if using pie weights, remove them and the foil and bake for 5 more minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the milk and half-and-half and whisk together
Add the salt, pepper, thyme, bacon, oinion powder, sausage and cheese. Stir well to combine.
Pour into the partially baked shell.
Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the outer part of the custard begins to set.
Place the tomato slices around the outer rim of the custard. Place about a teaspoon of the panko crumbs on top of each tomato.
Return to oven and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until center is set.

Nutrition

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Mini Fritattas

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 23 Aug 2014 23:00:00 +0000

Mini Fritattas

Cross between a quiche and a fritatta! Great for a light dinner or grab-and-go breakfast. Make a bunch; they reheat well.

I love quiche and I also love a good fritatta. I was wondering whether I could marry the two so you’d get the reheatability of a quiche along with the hearty, packed-with-goodies taste of a fritatta.

Make an excellent brunch or light dinner

Answer is–you can! I used a higher proportion of eggs to cream, although more cream than a true fritatta would use (it’s really only a puffy baked omelette), it produces a texture somewhere in between an omelette and a custardy quiche.

These have a definite Italian-style flavor since I used my beloved Asiago cheese and Italian sausage–and threw in some diced green/red peppers I had laying around in my freezer–but this can be made with any leftover meat and veggie combination that you can think up. And here’s where canned whole potatoes come in handy–I used those since they’d keep their shape and not get mushy. I diced up regular sausages, but bulk Italian sausage that has been browned can be substituted here. Use any cheese that suits you too.

Reheats well too!

These make a good light supper or brunch served with a green salad, but since they reheat well, they can be popped in the microwave for about a minute and stand in as an on-the-go breakfast or snack.

I tend to use something richer than regular milk in these types of dishes because the taste is richer and they turn out less watery. I didn’t try this with milk (I only use whole milk for cooking) so I cannot state whether they would turn out quite the same. Probably would, but be a tad more moist. However, since I didn’t test this, I can’t recommend it.

Grab-n-go breakfast

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Mini Fritattas

Cross between a quiche and a fritatta! Great for a light dinner or grab-and-go breakfast. Make a bunch; they reheat well.

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Total Time40

Course: Appetizers, Breakfast, Brunch, Comfort Foods, Everyday Meals, lunch

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: fritatas

Servings: 12

Calories: 110kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups half-and-half cream
2 tbsp diced green bell pepper
2 tbsp diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup diced cooked potatoes
1 cup diced cooked Italian sausage
1/2 cup shredded asiago cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray or grease a 12-cup regular-sized muffin pan.
In a large bowl, beat eggs well. Beat in the cream. Stir in remaining ingredients.
Spoon into prepared pan, filling cups almost to the top.
Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees F then reduce oven heat to 350 degrees F and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until centers are set.
Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes. Remove fritattas from pan and serve.

Nutrition

Mini Fritattas

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Maryland Seafood Bake

Judith Hannemann — Sun, 20 Apr 2014 23:00:00 +0000

Maryland Seafood Bake

If you love Maryland crab cakes, this is the casserole for you! This is like a big crab cake, quiche and savoury bread pudding all in one.

Basically what this is is a savoury bread pudding. It’s packed with crab and shrimps. But you don’t have to stop there! Add some scallops too if you have them, or use all crab or all shrimp if that’s what moves you

Makes a great lunch or light dinner

This dish makes for a nice brunch, lunch or light dinner. The flavors all combine so well and the addition of Old Bay seasoning is the thing that brings it all together.

Packed with delicious shellfish

I used all soft bread cubes here, but if you want to take an extra step that would make the casserole more “toasty,” then cut the bread into cubes and toast it in a 250 degree F oven for about 10-15 minutes. Of course you can cheat this step by using store-bought plain croutons. I used canned shredded crabmeat here, but fresh, and even the imitation stuff that’s sold frozen, may be substituted.

Maryland Seafood Bake

10 slices white bread, cut in cubes*
2 tbs fresh parsley, minced
1/4 cup mixed red & green bell peppers
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cups small, cooked shrimp (peeled & de-veined)
1 lb crab meat, either shredded or coarsely chopped
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2-3 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
3 tbs butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk

*You can toast the cubed bread in a 250 degree F oven if you prefer. Lay cubed bread in a single layer on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Equivalent amount of ready-made unseasoned croutons may be used (about 6-8 cups approximately)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray a 2 quart deep casserole with non-stick spray.

Melt butter over medium-low heat in a large skillet. Saute the bell peppers and onions until onions are tender and translucent.

Place bread cubes, shrimp, crab meat and parsley in a large bowl. Toss to combine. Now add the sauteed onions and peppers, including the melted butter that’s in the skillet. Turn into prepared baking dish.

In a separate small bowl, beat eggs with the milk. Add the salt, pepper and Old Bay Seasoning.

Pour egg/milk mixture evenly over bread mixture in the baking pan.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Serves 4-6

Maryland Seafood Bake

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Double Cheese Bacon Pie

Judith Hannemann — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Double Cheese Bacon Pie

Bacon and a double dose of cheese. It gets no better than this.

Who doesn’t love cheese and bacon???

This supper or luncheon dish will satisfy the fussiest eater.

Somewhat like a quiche, it’s base is a custard, but that’s where the similarity ends.

The custard has a heaping helping of jack cheese (you can sub any melting cheese you like here), plenty of bacon and a crowning glory of more cheese, but this time it’s cheddar.

Cheese & bacon!

A pinch of some thyme and a whisper of green onion finish off the savoriness of this dish.

Caution–this is NOT diet!!! However you can reduce the fat some by using evaporated skim milk in place of the cream and milk and lower-fat cheeses if you want.

I cheated here and used those ready-made pie crusts that are sold in the dairy section, but you can also use the frozen kind and of course, make your own favorite single-crust recipe.

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Double Cheese Bacon Pie

Bacon and a double dose of cheese. Quiche gets no better than this.

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bacon pie, quiche

Servings: 4 -6

Calories: 705kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 9-inch unbaked pie crust
1 cup half and half *
1/2 cup milk *
4 eggs
10 strips cooked bacon cooked crisp and crumbled
2 green onions chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1 pinch dried thyme
1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. If using pre-made rolled pie crust, fit in a regular (not deep dish) 9-inch pie pan. Flute and prick fork holes in the bottom of the crust. Lay a piece of aluminum foil on the top of the pie crust and distribute pie weights (if you wish to use them). Navy or great northern beans can be used as pie weights. Uncooked rice may be used as weights too.
Bake pie crust for 10 minutes. Remove foil and pie weights if you used them. Return crust to oven and cook 5 more minutes or until the fluting just begins to get golden. Remove from oven.
In a large bowl beat the eggs. Add the milk, salt, pepper, green onions and thyme. Beat well. Add the 1 cup of Monterrey Jack and stir to combine. Pour in partially baked pie crust.
Distribute crumbled bacon evenly across filling. Top with the 1 cup (or more if you like) of shredded sharp cheddar.
Bake at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes, or until center is set.
Remove from oven and cool for about 15-30 minutes. Pie is not served hot--it is served very warm.

Notes

*1 can (12 oz) of evaporated milk or evaporated skim milk may be substituted

Nutrition

Double Cheese Bacon Pie

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