Bacon, Zucchini, and Leek Quiche

I had some left over ingredients from some of my dishes this week: a leek, some shredded zucchini, and some basil. I didn’t want these to go to waste so I decided to throw them all together into a quiche – adding a little bacon for flavor and because, well, it’s bacon.

I started by cutting the bacon into small pieces and frying it. Then I sauteed a diced onion in some of the bacon fat, adding the zucchini and the leek.

I blind baked a pie crust, then sprinkled it with cheese to seal the crust and keep it from getting soggy. I would have liked to use mozzarella or Gruyere, but all I had on hand was Mexican 4-cheese blend.

I mixed up a few eggs with a little cream, salt and pepper, and basil.

I combined the egg mixture with the vegetable mixture and poured it into the pie shell.

I covered the edges of the pie shell in foil to prevent over-baking.

After 45 minutes of baking – I had a gorgeous lunch.

Bacon, Zucchini, and Leek Quiche

1 refrigerated pie crust
1/4 lb of bacon, cut into small pieces
1 small onion, diced
1-2 medium zucchini, shredded or grated
1 leek, white and light green parts only, cut into half moons
3 eggs
1/4 cup of heavy cream
1-2 tbsp basil
3/4 cup shredded soft cheese (mozzarella, Gruyere, cheddar)
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place pie dough into a 9inch pie pan and press into the bottom. Cover the dough with foil, pressing into the bottom and edges, and fill with pie weights, beans, or rice. Bake for 12 minutes, remove the foil and weights, bake another 5 minutes. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool slightly. Sprinkle 1/4 of the soft cheese over the bottom of the crust to seal it. Reduce the oven to 350 degrees F.

Meanwhile, place the bacon pieces in a cold skillet and set over medium high heat. Cook until crispy, then set aside on paper towels. Pour off most of the bacon grease, leaving about a tablespoon in the pan. Saute the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the shredded zucchini, the leeks, and 1/2 tsp salt, cook a few more minutes.

Whisk together the eggs, cream, basil, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Add the vegetable mixture, bacon, remaining 1/2 cup soft cheese, and Parmesan to the eggs. Pour the mixture into the pie shell, cover the edges with foil, and bake 35-45 minutes – until the center is set. Cool on a wire rack 10-15 minutes before serving.