Beautiful Food

I. Smell.  BACON!

BACON?

Did someone say bacon!?

And eggs! Raise your hand if you love bacon and eggs!

I have a recipe to cure your cravings for both of these wonderful foods.  Add some swiss chard and BOOM we’ve got a party.

I know what you’re thinking….ew, green stuff?  Trust me, the swiss chard worked perfectly in this quiche, and I can guarantee that you’ll like it–but if you have none on hand, you can easily substitute in kale, or spinach, or heck, even try bok choy! You have my permission to switch things up.

Also, here is a picture of my dining room wall…. 😀

 

Negative space much!? 

Besides being a general throw-together recipe, I recommend making the dough the night before, and chilling it vigorously, especially if you want your crust to keep its shape 🙂

 

You will need: 

Food Processor

Rollin pin

Cling wrap

A large mixing bowl

Whisk

Frying pan

9″ pie pan or dish

Cooking spray

Cookie sheet

Pie weights or chain

Ingredients: 

For the crust-

1 1/4 cups Whole wheat flour

3/4 stick of cold butter, cut into 1/4″ pieces

1/8 cup of Shortening, cubed

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/4 cup of Ice water

1/4 cup of cold Vodka

For the filling –

1 Tablespoon of olive oil

2-3 Tablespoons shallots or chopped onions

3-4 slices of bacon of your choice (chopped)

4-5 large eggs

1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

3/4 cup cream or milk

1/2 cup chopped swiss chard

2 teaspoons of dried parsley

1 teaspoon of fresh minced garlic

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Directions:

Begin with the crust: 

Preheat the oven to 350ºF

• Place the flour and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times so the two ingredients become well incorporated.  Place the butter and shortening a piece at a time into the processor and pulse until the pieces start to resemble small peas.
• Place 1/4 cup of chilled vodka into a liquid measuring cup and add the 1/4 cup ice water to it.
• Pour the liquid ingredients into the processor a little at a time, while pulsing the mixture to form a dough.  The butter pieces will become smaller but don’t let them disappear!
• Just as the dough starts to come together, turn it out onto a floured surface.  Roll it into a flat disk, cover with cling wrap and chill for 30 or so minutes.
• Remove dough disk from refrigerator and roll into a thin crust.  Carefully transfer it to a greased/sprayed pie dish.
• Place pie weights onto crust and pop it in the oven to bake for 8 minutes. 
• Set a timer and work on your filling while the crust pre-bakes!  Be sure to remove it from oven when time is up- do not continue to let it bake plain!

Move on to the filling: 

• Place the olive oil into the skillet and warm up on low.  Place onions and chopped bacon into the skillet and fry on medium heat until onions are translucent.  Bacon does not have to be cooked completely unless you want it crispy.   Add swiss chard and stir over medium heat until just starting to wilt.  Remove from heat and set aside.
• In your large bowl, whisk the eggs until runny.  Add the cheese, milk/cream and spices.  Whisk until fully blended.
• Add the onions, bacon and chard to the bowl and mix them in as well.
• Remove pie weights form crust and pour contents of the mixing bowl into the pie crust.
• In case of overflow, place the pie pan on a cookie sheet and carefully slide into oven on middle rack.
• Bake for 45-55 minutes or until middle is set and springs back to the touch.  It should NOT be jiggly or appear to be fluid in the middle. The edges of the crust should be golden brown.  If you’re worried about edge burn, you can use tin foil to cover!
• Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing and indulging.

 

This would be perfect for Sunday brunch, or even for dinner served along side a hearty salad.  Get adventurous with your quiche and throw some other things in there!

Tuna! Salmon! Goat cheese! Arugula! Sun-dried tomatoes! Ham! Mushrooms!  The combinations are limitless.  Have fun! And don’t forget to share yours with me 😉

 

Enjoy!

 

 

-K