This quiche "came to me" while I was at the farmer's market last week. As I strolled down the aisles, I kept seeing beautiful rainbow carrots and speckled brown eggs at different booths, so I decided I had to make something from them!
As many of you already know from previous posts, Asher is allergic to dairy. Because of this, I often adapt recipes and use dairy-free substitutions (like almond milk and dairy free Daiya cheese). This recipe, however, is completely adjustable for those of us who can eat dairy (though it tastes pretty darn good as-is, and it doesn't taste dairy free). So, if you want to use real dairy in this recipe, you can switch out the almond milk for whole milk or half-and-half, and the dairy free cheese can be swapped with your melty cheese of choice (I recommend sharp cheddar or swiss).
Overall, this quiche is great for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or as an appetizer, and it's sure to impress your guests. The carrot on top adds a pop of color and hint of sweetness, while the leeks, cheese, and salt pork inside give it a wonderful punch of savory.
Let's get started!
What you'll need:
1 Pie Crust (I use this recipe and make flaky cinnamon cookies out of the remaining dough. The recipe makes a double pie crust, but you should use 3/4 of the dough for the quiche base.)
1/2 cup Chopped Salt Pork
1 small Red Onion, Chopped
1 cup Leek, Chopped
1 Tbs Garlic, Minced
1/4 tsp Freshly Grated Nutmeg
1/4 tsp White Pepper
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
2 Tbs Flour
4 Whole Eggs + 3 Yolks
3/4 cup Plain Unsweetened Almond Milk, Divided (or whole milk/half-and-half)
1 cup Daiya Mozzarella (or cheese of your choice)
4 Rainbow Carrots, Quartered Lengthwise
12" Fluted Tart Pan with Removable Bottom (Mine is from Sur La Table, but you can get a similar one here for less.)
First step, roll out your pie crust, poke holes in the bottom with a fork, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Blind bake with pie weights (or a silicone one like the one shown above) at 375ºf for 15 minutes, then remove the weights and bake for an additional 10, or until the crust starts turning a light golden brown. Don't turn off the oven, you'll be using it again shortly.
For the filling:
Crisp the salt pork in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Once the salt pork is crispy and the fat is rendered out, place the pork in a separate bowl, but leave the fat in the pan.
(TIP: It's far easier to chop salt pork when it's frozen, so I keep mine in the freezer. Because of the high fat content, it defrosts quite fast in the pan.)
Reduce heat to medium and add the onion and leek to the pan. Cook until translucent, then add in the garlic. Stir every few minutes and cook until caramelized (approx. 15 mins).
Sprinkle the mixture with the flour and stir. Once the leeks/onions are coated, add in 1/4 cup of almond milk and continue to stir for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.
In a bowl whisk the eggs, yolks, 1/2 cup of almond milk, cheese, salt, black pepper, white pepper, and nutmeg. Stir in the salt pork and leek/onion mixture, then pour into your crust.
Top with the rainbow carrot slices and bake at 375ºf for 30 minutes (or until the center is still slightly jiggly and the outsides are set).
Cool for 10 minutes and serve. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
RAINBOW CARROT QUICHE (DAIRY FREE)
Servings: 6
Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
Difficulty: Intermediate
INGREDIENTS
1 Pie Crust (I use this recipe and make flaky cinnamon cookies out of the remaining dough. The recipe makes a double pie crust, but you should use 3/4 of the dough for the quiche base.)
1/2 cup Chopped Salt Pork
1 small Red Onion, Chopped
1 cup Leek, Chopped
1 Tbs Garlic, Minced
1/4 tsp Freshly Grated Nutmeg
1/4 tsp White Pepper
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
2 Tbs Flour
4 Whole Eggs + 3 Yolks
3/4 cup Plain Unsweetened Almond Milk, Divided (or whole milk/half-and-half)
1 cup Daiya Mozzarella (or cheese of your choice)
4 Rainbow Carrots, Quartered Lengthwise
12" Fluted Tart Pan with Removable Bottom (Mine is from Sur La Table, but you can get a similar one here for less)
METHOD
Roll out your pie crust, poke holes in the bottom with a fork, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Blind bake with pie weights at 375ºf for 15 minutes, then remove the weights and bake for an additional 10, or until the crust starts turning a light golden brown. Don't turn off the oven, you'll be using it again shortly.
For the filling: Crisp the salt pork in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Once the salt pork is crispy and the fat is rendered out, place the pork in a separate bowl, but leave the fat in the pan.
Reduce heat to medium and add the onion and leek to the pan. Cook until translucent, then add in the garlic. Stir every few minutes and cook until caramelized (approx. 15 mins).
Sprinkle the mixture with the flour and stir. Once the leeks/onions fully coated, add in 1/4 cup of almond milk and continue to stir for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.
In a bowl, whisk the eggs, yolks, 1/2 cup of almond milk, cheese, salt, black pepper, white pepper, and nutmeg. Stir in the salt pork and leek/onion mixture, then pour into your crust.
Top with the rainbow carrot slices and bake at 375ºf for 30 minutes (or until the center is still slightly jiggly and the outsides are set).
Cool for 10 minutes and serve.
Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days.