If your garden is still giving you Swiss chard and leeks, turn them into this dramatically delicious quiche for Mother’s Day. Valerie Rice, the Santa Barbara home cook and gardener behind the dish, says it makes for a stunning breakfast, lunch or easy dinner.
The buttery crust helps hold the shape with its dramatic, high sides. When blind baking the crust, the recipe, featured in Rice’s debut cookbook, “From Lush Life: Food & Drinks from the Garden” (Prospect Park Books, $35), heeds this reminder: Fill pie weights up to the very top of the crust to avoid sagging.
Quiche with Swiss Chard & Leeks
Serves 8
Ingredients
Pâte Brisée (see recipe below)
2 tablespoons (¼ stick) butter
1 large leek (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced
1 cup chopped onion (about ½ onion)
1 large bunch Swiss chard, center rib removed, leaves sliced (about 4 cups)
1½ teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt, divided use
¾ teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided use
2 tablespoons dry white wine
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
5 large eggs
¾ cup whole milk
½ cup crème fraîche
¼ teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
2 ounces (½ cup) shredded gruyère or mozzarella
4 ounces soft, fresh goat cheese, crumbled
Directions
Brush an 8-inch round springform pan with 3-inch-high sides lightly with butter. On a lightly floured surface, roll 1 dough disk into a ¼-inch-thick round. Cut the dough into a 9-inch diameter round and carefully transfer to the prepared pan, pressing the dough over the bottom and just slightly up the sides of the pan.
Roll the remaining disk out to a thickness of ¼ inch. Cut into 4-inch-wide strips. Brush the dough on the sides of the pan lightly with water to moisten. Press the dough strips horizontally onto the moist dough edges and wrap all around the insides of the pan, pressing firmly to adhere the bottom to the sides. Fold the top edge of the dough over until even with the lip of the pan. Gather the scraps of dough to use later for patching. Prick the bottom of the crust a few times with a fork and freeze the crust until firm. (Can be made up to 1 week ahead. Cover crust with plastic wrap when firm. Cover and chill dough scraps.)
Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Carefully line the crust with parchment paper. Fill the crust with dried beans or pie weights all the way to the top. Bake until set and beginning to brown at the edges, about 20 minutes. Carefully remove the parchment and weights. Gently patch any holes in the crust with dough scraps. Continue baking until the crust is golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool completely. (Can be made up to 6 hours ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature.)
Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the leek and onion, and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Add chard, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, wine and thyme to the onion mixture, and sauté until the chard is tender, about 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, crème fraîche, remaining 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper and nutmeg in a large bowl until well blended. Add chard mixture and gruyère to the egg mixture and stir to combine. Pour the filling into the crust; dot with goat cheese. Cover gently with foil and bake until the filling is set, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cool completely.
Run a knife around pan sides to loosen, if necessary. Release pan sides from quiche. Cut quiche into wedges and serve.
Pâte Brisée
Makes 2 dough disks
Ingredients
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut in small cubes and frozen
1/3 cup ice water
Directions
Add flour, sugar and salt to a food processor bowl fitted with a steel blade and pulse 5 times to incorporate. Add butter and pulse 5 times. Add water and pulse until coarse meal forms. Divide mixture between two zip-top plastic bags; using your hands, squeeze until dough comes together. Press each into a disk. You’ll see dime-sized butter marks in the dough — they’ll keep the crust flaky. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes. (Can be made 3 days ahead and refrigerated or freeze up to 1 month. Soften at room temperature before rolling.)
— From Valerie Rice’s “Lush Life: Food & Drinks from the Garden” (Prospect Park Books, $35)
