Quiche seems like a springtime dish, but the truth is its an ‘any season’ dish in my opinion. This version skips the pastry and is built on a crispy, grated, potato hash brown crust.
Hash browns can always be counted on to add heartiness and can be made several different ways, incorporating a variety of ingredients, including leftovers or whatever happens to be on hand in the fridge. Although hash browns are credited as being from the USA, there are similar dishes elsewhere that likely contributed towards the hash browns of today, and should be mentioned:
- Rösti of Switzerland – like a potato pancake
- Latkes of the Jewish folks – also like a potato pancake, but with eggs
- Tortilla de papas (or patatas) of Spain – like an omelet
The original ‘quiche Lorraine’ was an open pie with a filling consisting of an egg and cream custard with smoked bacon. It was only later that cheese was added to the quiche Lorraine. The bottom crust was originally made from bread dough, but that has long since evolved into numerous other ideas such as puff pastry or hash brown crusts.
Although quiche is now a classic dish of French cuisine, quiche actually originated in Germany, in the medieval kingdom of Lothringen, under German rule, and which the French later renamed Lorraine. The word ‘quiche’ is from the German ‘Kuchen’, meaning cake.
The specialty quiche from Lorraine features gruyere cheese, onion, bacon as its primary flavors. The nice thing is, quiche is something that anyone can make and can be served as an entrée, for lunch, breakfast, or an evening snack.
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- 454 gm frozen, shredded hash browns, thawed
- 60 gm mozzarella cheese, grated
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 250 gm bacon, cut into 1/2" pieces
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 leek, sliced I use the entire leek, both white & dark green parts
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- pinch of smoked paprika
- 50 gm Gruyere OR Swiss cheese, grated
- 25 gm Parmesan, grated
- 8 grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced lengthwise for topping
Ingredients
Potato Crust
Filling
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- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Thaw & pat dry shredded hashbrowns on paper towels. Lightly toss with remaining crust ingredients. Press into the bottom & up the sides of a 9" quiche pan. Bake until golden brown around the edges, about 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 F.
- In a skillet, cook bacon until crisp, 5-6 minutes; transfer to a paper towel lined plate & allow to cool.
- Wipe out skillet & heat oil. Add leeks & garlic; cook covered , stirring occasionally, for 6 minutes or until tender.
- In a bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream, heavy cream & smoked paprika. Stir in bacon, leeks & cheese. Spoon mixture into hashbrown crust. Slightly press sliced tomatoes , cut side up, into quiche. Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp each salt & pepper.
- Bake until set & golden brown about 20-25 minutes. Let rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.
- To cut out a few calories, I use a low fat milk instead of the heavy cream. It just requires a little longer cooking time but still tastes great.