Easy Quiche

Let's talk quiche. Everybody loves it, and it's not just for breakfast. At least not in my house! Quiche is creamy, eggy, full of flavor (depending what you put in it), and has a buttery crust that melts in your mouth. I love making quiche because you can get creative with the ingredients, or add-ins. Quiche is the perfect brunch food, and a fun dish to bring to potlucks. The base of this recipe can be used with any add-ins, but I'm sharing my favorite - pancetta, shallots, cremini mushrooms, spinach and gruyere cheese, topped with air-fried leeks. If you use your own fillings, make sure they're about 2 cups so it doesn't overflow. Let's make a quiche!

Here's how to make it:

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 1 9" deep dish unbaked frozen crust, or make your own (use the same crust recipe as in this recipe)

For the filling:

• 4 large eggs

• 1/2 cup whole milk, or oat milk if non-dairy

• 1/2 cup heavy cream (or a non-dairy substitute)

• 1/4 cup cooking sherry

• 1 cup shredded gruyere cheese

• 3 large cremini (brown) mushrooms

• 1 large shallot

• 6 oz. sliced pancetta, or cubed (you can also use prosciutto, speck, or serrano ham)

• 6 oz. fresh baby spinach, coarsely chopped

• 1 leek (optional, for topping)

• 1 TBS olive oil (if using leek)

• 2 TBS unsalted butter

• 1 TSP fresh, finely chopped thyme or 3/4 TSP ground thyme

• 1/4 TSP fine sea or kosher salt

• 1/4 TSP ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Prepare your pie crust. Use instructions from this post or follow package instructions if store-bought. Let crust cool slightly before adding filling.

2. Preheat your oven to 350°F.

3. Coarsely slice the pancetta (or leave as-is if cubed) and cook in a pan to get slightly crisp all over. Reserve the fat and set aside.

4. In a large pan, melt the butter (and add in the pancetta fat - yum!) then add in the shallots and mushrooms. Cook over medium heat until softened, about 4-5 minutes, then add in the cooking sherry and let cook a few more minutes, stirring frequently, until all liquid is removed.

5. Add the spinach and cook until wilted.

6. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs by hand or using a hand mixer, whole milk, heavy cream, thyme and salt and pepper until fully combined, about 1 minutes.

7. Gently whisk in your add-ins (pancetta, shallots, spinach, mushrooms and cheese).

8. Bake the quiche for 45-50 minutes, or until the center is set. If the crust starts browning too much, put foil over the crust while finishing cooking.

9. Remove the quiche and let cool on rack (in pan) for at least 15 minutes.

10. If air-frying the leeks,: With a sharp knife, remove the dark green leaf end and slice the white/light green section into thin circular slices. Then slice in half so you have small slices, half-circles.

11. Put the sliced leeks into a large bowl with water and, using your hand, swish them around to rinse them off thoroughly. Dry them with a paper towel or let air dry for 15 minutes.

12. Toss the leeks in the olive oil and put in a preheated (to 400°F) air fryer and cook for about 10-15 minutes, giving them a shake halfway through to ensure they cook evenly and don't burn.

13. Add the leeks to the top of the quiche and serve! It's best warm but can be eaten at room temperature.

14. Place any uneaten quiche in the fridge with plastic wrap.

15. Enjoy!

Did you make it? Share pics in the comments!