Quiche with Caramelized Leeks, Goat Cheese, and Pancetta

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One of my absolute favorite things is when the bloggers I follow post their failures. The food world can be very intimidating, with perfectly styled photos and an entire team behind them. But when they post their failures, whether it’s April Fool’s or an “end of the year recap”, it’s very humbling. It’s very raw and well…real. 

I’m not sure when and where we got so caught up in everything being so perfect but it is not my bag. Sure, it might be pretty to look at a perfectly styled cheeseburger, but if you’re an at-home chef, you’re going to wonder why your burger doesn’t end up looking like that. And I’ll tell you why it doesn’t. Because you are cooking it yourself and you’re about to devour it. You didn’t cook it, wait for it to cool, wait for the right light, and have your styling team come over and lay a perfectly crumpled red and white napkin next to it. You’re a human that made a burger…to eat.

Long rant short, making quiche always makes me think of the time I spilled the entire contents of a raw quiche in my oven. I was putting it in the oven and I just ever so slightly burned the top of my hand on the oven rack, and somehow managed to flip the whole thing over. Raw egg all over the door of the (very hot) oven. Bacon, mushrooms, whatever it was, everywhere. It was a real treat to clean up, as you can imagine.

Anyway, this horrid, very real memory does not prohibit me from making quiche. And I hope it doesn’t you. I also hope that just because your quiche may not look as spectacular as the people on the internet tell you it should, that you’ll love it just the same. Enjoy cooking and enjoy the process and enjoy eating your damn food because well, what else is there?

What You'll Need

Eggs - 6

Whole milk - 1 cup

Goat Cheese - 8 ounce log

Leeks - white and light green parts, sliced thin (about 1.5 cups)

Pancetta - 4 ounces

Pie crust - store bought, or homemade if you feelin’ fancy

Salt and pepper

What You'll Do

1. Preheat oven to 425. Remove pie crust from fridge and let come to room temp.

2. Prep leeks. (Don’t skip this step!) Cut off the roots and just barely past the light green part. Cut lengthwise, then slice thin into half-moons. Fill small bowl with water, add leeks and agitate to help remove dirt. Remove leeks, dry on a tea towel (or paper towel). 

3. Cook pancetta in a skillet over medium-low heat. Cook just like bacon, remove when crispy and let oil cool in pan.

4. Remove some of the oil from the pan but leave enough to coat the bottom. Sauté leeks in pancetta fat for a good 10-15 minutes, until caramelized. Set aside.

5. In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, crumbled goat cheese, pancetta, leeks, and salt and pepper.

6. Place pie crust in pie pan and pour egg mixture into it. Top with more cracked pepper.

7. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes before reducing temp to 375 and continuing to bake for 45 min.

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