Leek, Sausage, Parmesan Quiche

I have a confession.

I love leeks.  I love them on pasta, I love them stuffed into turkey burgers, I love them as a substitute for regular onions.  I love their light, delicate flavor.  It’s just enough onion to keep a dish interesting without it being all up in your face with its onion-iness.  That’s totally a word.  This isn’t my first recipe featuring leeks, and it certainly won’t be my last.

I love them so much that I originally wanted to make just a leek quiche, but I figured that might be a little too much for some people.  (Hi Mom!) So I added some Parmesan for bite and some nice ground turkey breakfast sausage to add a little heft and balance out the prevailing leek flavor.  It also makes it a little more breakfast-y (also, totally a word).

I got a new roommate a couple weeks ago.  She’s probably the best roommate I’ve ever had.  She’s always excited to see me come through the door, she’s ready to play when I want to play and cuddle when I want to just watch a movie.  She never eats all my food.

Meet Olive.  And by the way, that’s her chair now.  She’d rather nobody sit in it but her.  Chair thief.

Leek, Sausage, Parmesan Quiche

Crust
1 Cup flour, all-purpose
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3-4 Tablespoons ice water

Filling
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1 leek (white and light green part only), sliced thin and washed
1 1/2 cup cooked turkey breakfast sausage
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
4 large eggs
1/4 cup half-half or whole cream
1 teaspoon ground mustard powder
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

For the crust

Combine 1 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, 1/8 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl.  Using a fork, a pastry cutter, or just your hands, cut in the chilled butter until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.  Mix in 3-4 tablespoons of ice water one tablespoon at at time, until the dough holds together, but isn’t wet or sticky, making sure to incorporate all of the dry ingredients.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes while you prepare the filling.

After the dough has rested 30 minutes, roll it out on a well floured surface until it is 1/8 inch thick.  Don’t worry about getting it into a perfect circle.  It won’t be perfect.  Just make sure it’s in a circular shape and it’s around 1/8 inch thick and you’re good to go.   I find it’s easier to transfer the dough to the quiche pan for the last refrigeration period.  To easily line the pan, place a rolling pin on one side of the dough and lightly roll the dough around the pin.  Then unroll it over the quiche pan.  Lift the edges of the dough up lightly so that it lightly eases down in the pan, making sure to line the edges.  If tears or holes appear, you can pinch them shut or use scraps to repair the dough.  Return the dough to the refrigerator for another 30 minutes while you prepare the filling.

For the filling

In a medium pan, heat 1 T butter over medium heat.  After you have sliced your leek, make sure to wash it well to remove all the dirt.  Saute the leeks in the butter until they are soft and are beginning to turn translucent.  Add the turkey sausage and salt and pepper to taste.

Break the eggs in a medium bowl and whisk until they are combined.  Add the half-half or cream, mustard powder, nutmeg, salt and pepper.  Whisk to combine. Set aside.

Remove the crust from the refrigerator and spread the leek/sausage mixture evenly over the bottom of the crust.  Top with the Parmesan cheese.  Finally, top with the egg mixture.

Bake at 400 degrees for 40-50 minutes until the egg is set.  If it begins to brown too quickly, you can place a piece of aluminum foil over the top to keep it from burning.

Serve warm with more Parmesan cheese on top.  You can never have too much Parmesan.