Emeril Lagasse's Cookbook Sneak Peak: Leek and Bacon Quiche in a Potato Crust

Check out some of the great food making its way onto my plate from Emeril's new cookbook coming out on September 27th, 2011! It's called Sizzling Skillets and Other One-Pot Wonders. You can pre-order it now on Amazon.com.

You can find more recipes from the book on Shawnie Kelley's blog, Manges! Mangi! including Tagine of Chicken with Lemon and Olives, Portuguese Pork and Clams and Emeril's Cajun Shrimp Stew.


I often make quiche, but it's kind of the same way I make soup: whatever is in my fridge that I need to use up goes in, and out comes something reasonably edible. I prefer my quiche with heavy cream vs. soy milk or 2% milk, but I find all of the variations to be acceptable. What I never much care for is the crust. It's fine, it holds the thing together, but I don't really ENJOY it.

Well, Emeril has found a solution! Potato Crust! Potatoes last forever in the fridge, so I can have them on hand. The rest of the ingredients were familiar and things I often have in my house. Except the bacon, I left that out. I'm sure it'd be delicious with bacon; bacon and leeks go well together.

I really enjoyed the oniony flavor with the green onions and the leeks. I like savory breakfasts, or egg dinners, so this is a great recipe for me to make and munch on for a few days.

The leeks smelled AMAZING when they were cooking in the butter! The only thing I'd change is the quality of the cheese I chose: I used a standard packaged sharp cheddar. A stronger, high quality cheese would have been noticeably better. I don't say that about every recipe.

As you can probably see, I overcooked the crust just a bit. I would've gone 5-10 minutes less on the crust baking. I was afraid the potatoes wouldn't be cooked and overcompensated a bit.

This makes a big quiche, so it's great for a group offering at a party or a big family breakfast. It warms up better than any quiche I've had, so you can be like me and make it for yourself, then eat it for 4 days straight. :)

Check out the finished product below!

Leek and Bacon Quiche in a Potato Crust

Nonstick cooking spray
2 tblsp butter, plus 1 tblsp softened and 2 tblsp melted
7 eggs
2 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp freshly ground white pepper
1/4 tsp plus a pinch of cayenne
2 lbs Idaho potatoes, peeled and set in a bowl of water to prevent browning
1 egg white, lightly beaten
8 oz bacon, diced
1 large leek, root end and dark green leaves discarded, thinly sliced and cleaned
1 c. sour cream
1 1/2 c whole milk
1 1/2 c heavy cream
1 tblsp fresh thyme leaves
1/4 c thinly sliced green onion
4 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated (about 1 cup)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
 
Using the cooking spray, grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Grease a large sheet of parchment paper with the softened butter and cut it into pieces to fit the bottom and sides of the pan (one circle and one long rectangle). Line the pan with the parchment paper, buttered side up.

Whisk 1 egg in a medium bowl. Add 1 tsp of the salt, 1/2 tsp of the white pepper, and the pinch of cayenne.

Set a box grater on a clean kitchen towel. Grate the potatoes on the large holes of the grater onto the towel. Gather the ends of the towel up around the grated potatoes to another clean towel and squeeze again. You may need to do this in batches.

When the potatoes are dry, add them and the melted butter to the egg mixture and toss to combine. Pat the potato mixture evenly on the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pan. Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake until golden around the edges, about 30 minutes. Brush some of the beaten egg white all over the potato crust to seal any cracks. Set the crust aside to cool for at least 5 minutes (leave it on the baking sheet for easier transporting). Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F.

Add the bacon to a small skillet and set over medium heat. Cook until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crispy, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper two-lined plate and reserve. Discard all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat from the pan.

Add the remaining 2 tblsp butter to the pan. When the butter has melted, add the leek, 1/2 tsp of the remaining salt, and 1/4 tsp of the remaining white pepper. Cook, stirring as needed, until the leek is soft, 6-7 minutes. Remove from the heat.

In a large bowl, whisk the remaining 6 eggs with the sour cream, milk, cream, thyme, green onion, grated cheddar, and remaining 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp white pepper, and 1/4 tsp cayenne until smooth. Add the bacon and leek and stir to combine. Carefully ladle the filling into the potato crust. The filling may come up past the edges of the crust, depending on how high you pressed the potato crust. if so, don't worry.

Bake for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and cook for 25 minutes. Rotate the pan from front to back and continue to cook until the quiche is nearly set in the center, about 25 minutes longer. It will continue to set as it cools. Remove the quiche from the oven and set aside at least 20 minutes before slicing and serving.

8 servings