Eazy-Q

Another post about quiche? Come on, Squid, really?

But it’s true – once again, quiche is showing it’s deliciously buttery face on the Blog, and what a quiche it was. At a loss for what to cook on a Saturday night, M and I turned to one of our favorites, a weekday dinner quick fix that has made deep-dish piecrusts a staple in our respective freezers.

However, we decided to make the quiche a little differently this time, using ingredients that we had never cooked with before. Fast-forward 20 minutes, and we walked out of the grocery store, bags full of fresh leeks, a giant fennel bulb, yellow onions, a healthy hunk of pancetta, fresh thyme and ingredients for a simple tomato salad. Oh, and a mega Toblerone bar. Just because.

Having never cooked leek or fennel, I searched the web and came up with a few recipes and YouTube videos that described their preparation clearly and simply – I can only imagine what cooks did before the advent of the Internet. Despite a somewhat rocky start to the cooking process, though, the result: a deliciously golden, delightfully puffy quiche with slightly sweet fennel and leek, aromatic thyme, caramelized onions and chunks of salty, meaty pancetta enveloped in a light, buttery, not-too-thick crust (not bad for store bought).

Together with a tomato and red onion salad and exceptional company, it was, I must say, the perfect meal for a chilly Saturday night.

Leek and fennel quiche with caramelized onion and pancetta

Inspired by Smitten Kitchen, Binny Cooks and Epicurious

Ingredients

-       1 9” deep dish pie crust (we use Tenderflake), or own recipe

-       1 bulb of fennel, sliced

-       2 stalks of leek, sliced

-       100 g pancetta, cubed

-       ½ medium yellow onion, sliced

-       5 eggs, room temperature

-       10 sprigs of thyme

-       splash of milk

-       salt and pepper, to taste.

1.     Prepare the leeks by first removing the green portion of the stalk then removing the outermost layer. Slice the white part of the stalk into ¼ inch pieces and set aside.

2.     Prepare the fennel by first removing the leafy stalk at the top of the bulb, then slicing the bulb down the middle. The outer portion of the fennel bulb will fall away, revealing the tender inner bulb. Halve the bulb and remove the hard core by making a triangular incision. Slice the two halves of the bulb into ¼ inch pieces.

3.     In a large saucepan with a lid, cook the slices of fennel and leek over medium high heat with 2 tbsp butter, 2/3 cup water and 1 tsp salt. Let simmer until almost all of the water has evaporated (about 10 minutes), then cover and let cook until the vegetables are soft and the remaining water has evaporated. Remove from heat and let cool.

4.     Preheat oven to 400F and remove piecrust from freezer. Poke holes along the bottom and sides of the crust and let rest at room temperature for about 15 minutes,

5.     In a medium frying pan, caramelize the onions over medium heat with pancetta, using the fat from the bacon the to cook the onions, stirring frequently (heart healthy, I know…). Cook until onions are browned and pancetta is crisp – using a slotted spoon, transfer onions and pancetta to a paper towel-lined plate and pat dry.

6.     In a large bowl, break 5 eggs and whip with splash of milk. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, and rosemary leaves. Add the cooked leek, fennel, onion and pancetta and mix well, incorporating the filling into the egg mixture. Use discretion when adding the leek and fennel mixture – depending on the size of your fennel bulb and leek stalks, the volume of cooked vegetable might be too much for the quiche.

7.     Pour the egg mixture into the piecrust, and ensure an even distribution of filling over the entire surface of the crust.

8.     Place quiche on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 35 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.