I’m going to take a page out of Amy Poehler’s book for this intro: Julia Child, you were a beautiful, talented, brilliant, powerful land mermaid.
Some recipes urge you to play and riff and improve. Others… others are perfect just the way they are. They have reached the pinnacle of perfection. This classic Julia Child recipe is very much the latter.
A graphic designer by trade, I am compelled to nerd out here and compare a Julia Child quiche to the typeface Helvetica– so much work went into perfecting it that the final product is kind of… incomparable. A solution for everything? No. But a perfect solution to one thing? Almost definitely.
I made this quiche for Mother’s Day this weekend- the first family celebration at the new place! It was great to have everyone over and actually host something for once.
It also made me miss my own mum quite a bit as she currently lives in Perth, Western Australia (aka pretty much as far away as you can get from Vancouver without starting to come back again). Viber and FaceTime are utterly wonderful but brunch and a house full of family doesn’t translate well over an iPhone so mum, I owe you one of these quiches next time you’re in town. We will do a belated celebration.
The only small change I made to this recipe was using pre-made puff pastry for the crust. The prospect of making my own crust from scratch seemed a tad too ambitious for my Sunday morning and I do so love the butteriness of a puff pastry.
| Bacon and Leek Quiche | Print |
- 1 pound thickly sliced bacon, cut into ½-inch dice
- 3 large leeks, white and tender green parts only, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon chopped thyme leaves
- Salt and freshly ground white pepper
- 8 ounces cave-aged Gruyère cheese, grated
- 4 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2½ cups heavy cream or half-and-half
- 1 package frozen puff pastry, thawed
- Preheat the oven to 375°.
- In a large pan, cook the bacon over medium-high heat until browned and crisp, stirring periodically. Drain the bacon, leaving 1 tablespoon of the fat in the pan.
- Add the leeks and thyme to the pan, season with salt and white pepper and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the leeks are softened but not browned- around 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool. Stir in the bacon and gruyere.
- On a floured surface, roll one square of the puff pastry to fit a 12 inch pie pan. Trim the excess and use it to patch any holes. Refrigerate for 10 minutes. Repeat with the remaining pastry.
- Divide the bacon-and-leek filling between the pie shells and spread evenly.
- In a bowl, whisk the eggs with the egg yolks and heavy cream. Season lightly with salt and white pepper.
- Pour the egg mixture into the pie shells overtop the leek and bacon mixture. Bake for about 30 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through for even baking, until puffed and lightly browned.
- Let the quiches cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. Quiches are good gently warmed, room temperature, or even lightly chilled.
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