This Leek and Goat Cheese Quiche Is the Perfect Breakfast, Brunch, or Lunch

If you have a good quiche recipe in your back pocket, you can pull it out for many occasions. The dish is just as welcome in a fancy breakfast spread as it is at an afternoon picnic. Consider this quiche from the Institute of Culinary Education for an entry point into the world of savory pastry and custard.

Made with leeks and goat cheese, this dish is simple and easy to prepare. The most difficult part is nailing the crust. Recipe author Pauline Balboa Pelea uses a few tricks to perfect the shape and consistency. “Sometimes when you pre-bake [pie crust], it just shrinks,” the chef-instructor of pastry and baking arts at the Institute of Culinary Education’s New York campus tells Mental Floss. “So sometimes what I try to do is bake it at a higher temperature. The temperature that I initially bake the dough in would be 375°F, and that usually kind of shocks the dough. It bakes it right away without actually giving it time to shrink.”

To make the quiche, start by preparing your leeks. The alliums tend to be filled with grit, so rinse them well before slicing them into semicircular pieces. Sauté the leeks with butter, salt, pepper, and thyme over medium heat until soft.

Next, make the custard. Whisk the egg yolks, milk, cream, salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg together until it’s all well mixed. Blind bake the crust—either a store-bought pie crust or the pâte brisée outlined below—and transfer the pie shell to a baking sheet. Add the cooked leeks and goat cheese to the bottom of the crust before pouring in the egg and cream custard. Bake the quiche in a 325°F oven until fully set.

ICE offers courses in the culinary arts, pastry and baking arts, and hospitality and hotel management. With campuses on both coasts, it’s one of the largest schools of its kind in the world. If you’re interested in furthering your culinary education, you can view their curricula online.

Leek and Goat Cheese Quiche

Yield: one 9-inch quiche

Custard
2 leeks
1 tablespoon butter
2 sprigs thyme
1 cup milk
1/2 cup cream
4 egg yolks
1/2 tsp salt
Pepper, freshly ground
1/4 tsp nutmeg, grated
4 oz goat cheese

1. Cut the white parts off the leeks. Split in half and rinse. Slice crosswise into half-moon pieces.
   
2. Heat butter in a pan over medium heat. Add leeks and thyme. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sauté until softened. Remove from pan into a bowl and set aside.
   
3. Combine egg yolks, milk, cream, salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg in another bowl. Whisk until fully combined.
   
4. Blind bake the crust (pâte brisée below or store-bought): Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line the crust with two pieces of foil, making sure it hangs slightly over the shell. Add baking weights or dry beans.
   
5. Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until the bottom is baked. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F after 15 minutes.
   
6. Remove the foil and baking weights from the parbaked shell. Place the pie shell on a sheet tray.
   
7. Add leeks to the shell and dot the bottom with goat cheese.
   
8. Place the sheet pan with the pie shell into the oven and slide the tray slightly out. Carefully pour the custard into the pie shell.
   
9. When the shell is full, carefully slide the tray in.
   
10. Bake quiche for approximately 30 minutes until set.
    
11. Let it cool and serve warm.

Pâte Brisée Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cake flour
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup cold water

1. Place all-purpose flour and salt in a stand mixer.
   
2. Cut cold butter into 1-inch cubes and add it to the stand mixer with flour and salt.
   
3. Using a paddle attachment on low speed, mix butter into dry ingredients until it forms pea-size pieces.
   
4. Stop the mixer and add cold water, mixing with the paddle briefly, just until dough holds together. Refrain from overworking the dough.
   
5. Shape the dough into a flat cylinder shape and wrap with a plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator and chill for approximately 1 hour until firm.
   
6. Take out the dough and dust the surface with flour. Using a rolling pin, roll from center and out. Rotate 45 degrees and keep rolling until the dough is less than 1/4 inch thick.
   
7. Place the dough over a 9-inch pie pan and position it so it is even on the sides. Gently push the dough into the corners of the pan. The dough should have an inch of overhang. Trim the edges by running over the edges of the pan with a rolling pin.
   
8. Chill the dough in the freezer for approximately 30 minutes until firm. This will help the dough to shrink less.

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