Ham, Swiss, and Leek Quiche | Fat and Happy

I'm not sure what to say about quiche. I don't think it's particularly healthy, but it's definitely not a junk food. People seem to have a lot of opinions about quiche being 'girly,' but I don't think that's really true either. I did love the story that everyone's favorite Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond told--her husband refused to eat quiche (due to a seemingly high volume of gender norms in their family), so she tricked him into it by calling it bacon and egg pie. Trickery! Silly men. Food is food.

All that aside, the best way to feel about quiche is YUM I LOVE THAT! When made right, it will just melt in your mouth. Plus you can put just about anything you want in and call it your own personal masterpiece. That's what I did here. This recipe was inspired by having a leek, and not knowing what the hell to do with it.

This one's for you, pal.

Ham, Swiss, and Leek Quiche

Ingredients:
1 homemade pie crust feel free to do store-bought. This isn't a blog about judging people.
1 cup ham, diced finely
1 cup swiss cheese, grated or diced
1 large leek, sliced into medallions up to the light green portion I honestly can't think of a less nerdy word than medallions.
6 eggs
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp paprika

Makes 6-8 servings, depending on the bellies. 

Once you've done your slicing and dicing, heat up a nice and wide frying pan with a little olive oil on medium heat. Gently place your leek slices in the pan, doing your best throughout this process to keep each one in tact. Obviously that's not going to be a 100% success, and it only really matters in the first place if you want your quiche to look like mine. If you'd rather mix 'em all up, have at it! If you're going my way, use a nice wide spatula to flip the leeks just once, so that they're browned on both sides and a little soft.

Now, while your beautiful (or not) leeks are cooling off a bit, line a deep dish pie pan with your crust. Unlike pies, for quiche I prefer to have as little crust as possible above the actual rim of the pan, and push the extra down. Layer the ham in the bottom of the crust, then the cheese on top of that.

In a nice big bowl, mix the eggs, milk, cream, and spices together with a whisk. Make sure there's no huge chunks of those weird egg white globs! Pour your liquid mixture over the ham and cheese. Then, as gingerly as you can, arrange the leeks on the surface of the quiche. The cheese and ham layers do a great job of holding them up at the right height, you just have to make them pretty (or not)!

I realized at the last second that it might be helpful to see what it looks like when fully assembled, so here's a quick snap of the before quiche...

In an oven preheated to 375 degrees, bake the quiche for 25-35 minutes. It took me a lot of googling to figure out the secret to really knowing if it's done or not (thanks for nothin' Martha Stewart!), and here it is: First, it should have become a lovely golden brown and have a nice crispy-looking crust. That part's easy. Then, if you think it looks good, give it a shake. When you wiggle it a little, just the center should shake along with you. And then if you're still nervous, test it with a knife! Poke it right in the center, and if she comes up clean it's time. Finally!!

I promise, it's just as delicious as it is beautiful! It's fun to get to invent your own quiche, but this is my go-to. Do you have a favorite flavor combo for your quiche? Secrets to make it a little closer to a healthy meal? Dish it in the comments!

Quiche mode!

-gu