“Upside Down” Butternut and Bacon Holiday Quiche Recipe

INGREDIENTS

For the Crust

• 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
• 8 tbsp. cold butter, cubed
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 6 tbsp. ice water
• 1 egg (for wash)

For the Filling

• 10 eggs
• 1 ¼ cup milk
• 1 tbsp. minced rosemary
• ½ cup (about 3 oz.) thick cut bacon or pancetta, finely diced
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup freshly grated gruyere cheese
• 2 cups diced butternut squash
• 2 tsp. minced garlic

Prepare the crust in a food processor, pulse flour, salt, and cold butter until butter is the size of peas. Add ¼ cup (4 tbsp.) cold water in a steady stream, pulsing the dough just a few times. Dough should stick when pressed together. If necessary, add more water, 1 tbsp. at a time. Shape dough into a 1-in. thick disc and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for an hour or until firm. Dough can be made ahead and kept in the fridge for up to three days or the freezer for a month (thaw dough in fridge overnight). You can also substitute pre-made pie dough.

Preheat oven to 375°F. On a floured surface, roll pie dough evenly to ¼-in. thick.

Store leftover quiche in an airtight container in the fridge. Store leftover pie crust in an airtight container at room temperature.

Many nutty, sharp, or aged cheeses work well with this quiche: asiago, parmesan, pecorino, sharp or aged cheddar. Freshly grate a block of cheese for best results.

The type of (dairy) milk you use doesn’t make a significant difference, so use what you have on hand. I tested everything from skim to whole with a good result.

For a vegetarian quiche, omit bacon and increase salt in egg mixture by ½ teaspoon.

For a gluten-free quiche, omit crust altogether.

If you don’t have an ovenproof au gratin pan or skillet, cook bacon and squash as directed, then move it into a greased baking pan or cake pan and pour the egg mixture in. Baking time may take a few minutes longer since the pan isn’t preheated.