Bacon & Fiddlehead Quiche

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Spring is the perfect time to enjoy a nice, fresh veggie egg pie. This recipe features fiddleheads, or fern sprouts, which must be boiled first before cooking with them. Other greens, such as asparagus, spinach or broccoli could be used, too. Either way, the flaky crust and great flavours will have your family asking for seconds!

Prep Time: 30 min

Cook time: 40-50 min

Yield: 1 9-inch pie

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/3 cup frozen butter

• 1/4 cup cold water

Filling

• 1/3 pkg bacon, diced

• 2-3 leeks

• 8oz fiddleheads, washed & boiled **Important Note Below**

• 8 whole eggs

• 1/2 cup sour cream

• 1/2 cup half-and-half cream

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp pepper

• 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, grated

• 1/2 cup Swiss cheese, grated

Directions

NOTE: fiddleheads must be cleaned and boiled before eating, or they can cause illness. Here's how to make them safe to eat:

1. To thoroughly wash the fiddleheads, fill your sink about half-full with cold water. By hand, pick off the dry brown bits from the fiddleheads and swirl them around in the water to remove any dirt.

2. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add the fiddleheads and allow to boil for 10 to 15 minutes, then remove using a slotted spoon and set aside (the water will be brownish now that the toxins have been removed from the fiddleheads).

Crust

1. In a medium bowl, stir together flour and salt. Grate the frozen butter into the flour and stir to evenly distribute. Add half of the cold water and stir with a fork to moisten the flour. Stir in the remaining cold water with a fork.

2. Turn out the lumpy, dough onto a floured surface and gently knead the dough until it comes together. Roll out and fit into a 8 or 9-inch pie dish. Set aside.

Filling

1. Pre-heat oven to 425F

2. Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Once the pan has come to temperature add in the diced bacon.

3. Remove the dark green tops of the leeks. Cut off the root end and slice the leek in half. Rinse under water, separating the layers with your fingers, to clean out any dirt that may have made it's way into the leek.

4. Slice leeks to create half-moon shapes and add to the bacon in the pan. Cook together until bacon is crisp and the leeks have softened.

5. Remove to a paper towel lined plate and set aside.

6. Crack eggs into a medium bowl, add in the sour cream, half-and-half cream, salt and pepper and whisk everything together.

7. Stir in the bacon & onions, fiddleheads and cheese to the egg mixture.

8. Pour into the pastry shell and bake in the pre-heated oven for 20min @ 425F and then lower the oven temperature to 350F and continue baking for another 20-30min or until the egg in the centre is set. You will know when it no longer giggles at the centre and a knife inserted comes out clean.

9. Let stand for 10 min once out of the oven. Slice and serve.

Zhuzh it up!

• If you can't find fiddleheads or they're out of season, you can substitute 3 cups of fresh chopped spinach.

• If you've got cherry tomatoes, slice them in half and add them on top of the egg filling after the first 20min of baking for a fresh burst of flavour.

• You can make these into mini-quiches. Simply make more dough, probably double the recipe, and bake in muffin tins for 15-20min @ 400F. These are great to freeze and have ready for breakfast on demand.

This amazing recipe was written by Erin Walker