Bacon, Spinach, and Mushroom Quiche

This recipe once was the winning entry in the Ark of Taste category of a pie competition put on by the Huron Valley Chapter of Slow Food International. I have three tips for perfect quiche. First, pre-bake the crust slightly to keep it from getting soggy once the custard and filling are added. Second, pre-cook the vegetables so that you do not have water releasing into the custard. And third, use a 1:2 ratio of eggs to milk. If you maintain this ratio, you can easily adjust a recipe to use eggs of any size, from the smaller Icelandic chicken eggs we sell, to large duck or goose eggs. I like to use bacon ends (the bits of bacon cut from the slab by the butcher to ensure that slices come out even) since it yields larger chunks that make a toothsome addition to a quiche.

Serves: 4-6 as a main dish with a side salad

Supplies: Deep dish pie pan and pie crust (we like using this lard crust https://tinyurl.com/yxn9fdbu)

Prep Time: 20 minutes – Cook Time: 40 minutes – Total Time: 1 hour

What You Need

1 pie crust

½ pound of Flight Path Farm bacon ends

1 large shallot, chopped fine

2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced

2 cups fresh spinach, chopped

½ tsp Herbs de Provence (optional)

1 cup shredded cheese or 1 small log of soft goat cheese cut into small pieces (optional)

4-5 Flight Path Farm Icelandic Chicken Eggs (or enough eggs to reach 6 ounces volume)

1 12-oz can of evaporated milk

¼ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp salt plus additional to taste

½ tsp pepper plus additional to taste

How To Make It

Preheat oven to 400°F. Roll out your pie crust to fit a deep-dish pie pan and use your thumb and fingers to flute the edges. Prick the crust all over with a fork too keep the crust from puffing up when baking. Bake pie crust for 10-14 minutes (or according to package directions) until it is just barely starting to brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Cut up any large pieces of bacon and place in a frying pan over medium heat. Cook until the bacon browns and renders extra fat, tossing occasionally. Remove the bacon pieces to a plate and pour off excess fat, leaving 1-2 T in the pan for cooking the vegetables. Once cool, chop bacon ends up into smaller pieces.

Over medium heat, add chopped shallots and mushrooms to the pan and cook until the shallots start to become translucent and the mushrooms brown and some of their excess moisture starts to evaporate. Add spinach and herbs to pan and continue to sauté until the spinach is wilted and any excess water from the vegetables has cooked off. Season filling gently with salt and pepper.

In a bowl or blender, combine eggs and beat gently. Add remaining ingredients and whisk or blend to combine. If using cheese, place in the bottom of the crust. Spread vegetable mixture over the cheese, and sprinkle bacon over that. Gently pour the egg mixture over it all. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the center is firm and the filling puffs up slightly.

Variations

Quiche is a great way to use up leftover bits of vegetables or meat – you can substitute nearly any vegetable for the spinach and mushroom, and nearly any protein for the bacon. I like to make quiche with evaporated milk, since we are not big milk drinkers (meaning a quart or gallon might go bad before using it all) and the evaporated milk adds richness without all the fat of heavy cream; however, you could use whole milk, a combination of low fat milk and cream, or even a nut milk.