Gruyère, Bacon and Leek Quiche
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My dream is to one day be one of those cool grandmothers that can make ANYTHING from scratch. My grandma is one of those… She is so talented that everything she makes looks like it was served in a 5 star restaurant. One day I will be there!
One of the things I struggle with the most is pies/tarts/quiches. I’m just not good at making dough. My grandma makes everything by hand, but I use a food processor to help me, and even so I do not always succeed. I had my fair share of dough that breaks when I’m rolling it, that falls apart when it’s baking, etc. It’s just a nightmare! However, this week I decided I’m going to face my fears and work on the things I need to master in every aspect of my life. And so I made a Gruyère, Bacon and Leek Quiche! And it was awesooooome! The dough was perfect and the crust came out pretty good, even though it doesn’t yet look like that of a 5 star restaurant. But I’m going for the rustic feel! ;-) And the filling… Oh my God, the filling! Just by writing about it my mouth is full of water.
This quiche is so good that people make gutural sounds when they first bite it. I could hear my husband making those sounds in the living room from the bedroom. And honestly, nothing makes me happier. I think food that provokes this kind of raw feeling is the best food out there. And I made it! I conquered my fear and I made an awesome quiche with a crust that was so full of flavor and didn’t fall apart when baking! (I guess I get the yellow belt now, right? <- karate reference for whoever is thinking I went cuckoo!)
The whole process of creating a dish, from picking fresh ingredients in the market to serving friends and family gathered around a beautiful table, feels magical. I feel like a painter looking at a blank canvas and having a whole palette of colors to chose from. Frying the bacon until crispy and golden, sautéing the leeks until green and tender, grating the Gruyère cheese (my favorite!)… then combining everything to create a delicious quiche. It really felt like I was blending colors one by one to the canvas so they could come together as something beautiful. That’s why I love to cook, to feel some kind of purpose in life!
Quiches are the perfect dish for brunches, lunches and even dinners. Just whip up a nice salad and open a cold bottle of white wine and you’re all set to impress! And the best thing about it is that you can make it one day before and just lightly heat it or serve it at room temperature.
Although this recipe is pretty time consuming, because you have to chill the dough twice and then bake it 3 times, it is not hard to make and this dough is pretty fool proof! (Well, I was able to make it wasn’t I? And then so can you!) I will for sure be making more quiches from now on! They are not only delicious but so beautiful… They are my new obsession!
* A fun fact about quiches: Although considered as typically French, the quiche originated in Germany. The word quiche comes from the German word Kuchen, which means “cake”.
* A few considerations about this recipe:
– During my first attempt to make this, the dough was really easy to handle but the crust shrank a lot during baking. So make sure your ingredients are cold and that you don’t overhandle the dough too much when rolling out. It’s is also nice to let the dough rest before baking. Also, because I know it will inevitably shrink a bit, I leave an overhang of about 1 inch and I make sure I fill it with enough pie weights (or beans) to keep the sides in place before blind baking.
So tell me… What’s your biggest struggle in the kitchen?
P.S. This recipe was slightly adapted from the magazine Food & Wine, “We Heart Julia Child” article.
Gruyère, Bacon and Leek Quiche
Yield:
6
Prep Time:
30 minutes
Cook Time:
1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time:
1 hour 45 minutes
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour (plus more for dusting the counter)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 6 tbsp cold butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 large egg yolk
- 4 to 6 Tbsp ice water
For the filling:
- 0.5lbs bacon, roughly chopped
- 2 large leeks, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp chopped thyme leaves
- 6oz Gruyère cheese, shredded
- 3 large eggs
- 1 large yolk
- 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
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39 Comments on “Gruyère, Bacon and Leek Quiche”
Wow this quiche looks fantastic, Olivia! I absolutely love the gruyere and bacon combination. So creative and looks amazing!
Thank you, Gayle!
Hi Olivia!!! I’m so excited to see your blog!!! Your photos are so beautiful!!!! Thank you very much for introducing yourself!!! Let’s keep in touch!!! beijos
Hi Ludmilla! Thank you for stopping by and, yes, let’s keep in touch! :)
This quiche looks perfect, Olivia! I love all those flavours, so delicious. Gruyere, bacon and leek is the perfect combination!
Thanks, Jess. They are indeed perfect together.
I’m sure you are already there, definitely close enough! :) The quiche looks fantastic!
Thank you, Manali!!! :)
Quiche is one of my favorite foods and I don’t make it nearly enough. Yours looks amazing. Love how thick it is and the crust looks perfect!
Thank you so much Christin. The crust is usually my weakness… Trying to master it! :)
Great tips on how to make this recipe work! I need to add this to my brunch menu soon. I love quiche and it works well as leftovers for dinner too!
Thanks, Ashley. I had it for breakfast, lunch and dinner the other day. lol
You go girl! I love that you faced your fears and made a quiche worthy of lip-smacking goodness you could hear clear across the house! This recipe is divine! Definitely a keeper!!
Thank you, Annie!!!
Great recipe Olivia! Love quiche and yours looks great!!! Like the tips! Pinned!
Thanks, mira! :D
What a fantastic combination Olivia gruyere, bacon, leek & thyme, this quiche looks so yummy! I think I can smell this pie already baking in my oven and I haven’t even cooked it :-)
Thanks, my dear. It really smells amazing when you bake it.
Good job! I love that you faced your fear and totally knocked it out of the park! Your quiche does look rustic in the very beautiful and perfect French (or German) country way. What time is lunch? I’ll bring the wine!
Thank you, Rachelle! Come over for lunch anytime! :)
what a great recipe, Olivia! I don’t eat bacon, but I’m sure it will taste delicious even without it! would love to try! pinning for later!
Yes, just omit the bacon! It will still be delicious!
Lucky you to have a Grandma that can cook it all. I think you’ve got some of her talent. This quiche is so elegant and looks tasty too!
Thank you so much, Kathy. My grandma is indeed my inspiration!! :)
Grandma’s really do make the best foods. Must be all the years of practice. We’ll get there someday! This quiche looks perfect! I have dough fear also, and often go with store bought. But you’ve inspired me to make my own!
Yes! Let’s conquer dough fear together by making lots of dough until we are the Yoda of dough. lol
I love quiche! I’ve made quite a few of them. I love the tip about using weights for blind baking. And you can never go wrong with Gruyere in a quiche, it’s delicious!
Thanks, Jen!!!
Hello! I found your blog by way of The Little Loaf and after seeing this recipe and story, had to leave a comment. Leeks and bacon are honestly one of the best combinations in the world. I recently made roasted chicken with them starring in supporting roles and oh, my, were they delicious.
I feel a similar desire to be able to make anything from scratch. Well, maybe not everything, but I would like to perfect a couple types of bread and for some reason I just haven’t gotten around to trying…maybe one day. :) Thanks for the recipe, and hope you’re having a nice week!
Hi Meg! Thanks for stopping by. I would love roast chicken with leeks and bacon, yum. And one day I think we’ll master everything we want, if we just face our fears and do it over and over again, until it is perfected! :)
This looks amazing! I love that it has Gruyere cheese. I’m trying to master memorizing my recipes…I always have this ocd need to check them even if I’ve made something 100 times, lol
Hi Olivia!
Made it this morning and it was DELIGHTFUL! However, the spring form pan leaked. Have you tried this in a regular pie pan and if so, did you make any adjustments? The flavor was spot on, but as my boyfriend pointed out, the pan was full of leeks. 🙄. Thanks for the blog! Love what you’re doing!!
Mine had a really hard time setting up. Maybe too much cream? Also it was way too much leek, I think I would use one next time.
My son is a Sommelier at The French Laundry and requested Bacon and Leek Quiche for Christmas morning. So I got up early and made this recipe. I something of a pastry snob, I can make pie crust dough in less than 10 minutes and have mastered croissants, so I wasn’t sure about the egg yolk in the dough but it was fantastic! My son said it was the best quiche I have ever made, so thank you!
Made this for Christmas morning and it was….fan-bloody-tastic!!!!! Oh and the next day..gah!!! The flavors had settled in and I was the queen who got all the yummy compliments 🤣🤣🤣 great recipe!!! 😘👍🏼
This quiche is just the best! I’ve tried others and this one is just a solid go-to in our house. I confess I use Pilsbury pie crust but I blind bake it and follow the filling recipe exactly. It always comes out delicious and sets up just right. My husband loves it for a hearty breakfast… Who would have thought a manly man would call quiche his hearty breakfast! Thank you!
Hi Jenny, oh I’m so glad! My manly man is also a fan of quiche, especially when it involves bacon. :)
This looks absolutely delicious! What diameter and depth of quiche dish did you use? Was it metal or ceramic? Thank you 😊
Hi Anne, I use a 9-inch metal springform pan!