Kiddush Quiche (say that 5 times fast….)

The Hebrew word Kiddush means a prayer recited at the beginning of the Sabbath or holiday, but can also refer to a reception held just after services, often in conjunction with a Bar Mitzvah. Food at a Kiddush tends to be light or sweet fare – salads, fish, bagels, wine, cakes.

We hosted a Kiddush at our home last month for our friend’s son on the night before his Bar Mitzvah. In this process I discovered that hosting a friend’s party is much less stressful that hosting your own, especially when they bring most of the food, which in this case included a varity of cakes and fruit, the most amazing of which was the chocolate flourless cake from the Silver Moon Bakery. Because the timing of services made me worried that some of the guests may not have eaten dinner, I added cheese to the menu of sweets and decided to make a quiche.

It was a good decision – the group pretty much devoured everything. And what a great group it was – the kids all got along well, and we adults re-connected with old friends and made some new friends, too.

Thanks to our dear friends for allowing us to play such a special part in this important event.

Leek, Red Pepper and (chicken) Sausage Quiche

I modified a recipe for leek quiche I found in the Professional Chef, and used my own pie crust recipe. Obviously, our friends are not Kosher, but if you are, skip the meat in this quiche.

1 recipe Pate Brisee
2 large leeks or 4 small ones, thinly sliced
1 red pepper
1 clove garlic
butter or oil
salt
cayenne pepper
1 1/4 cup half and half
3 eggs
4 oz grated cheese (I used Fontina, you could also use Jarlsberg)
2 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
2 sausages (I used Applegate Farms organic pre-cooked chicken-apple sausages), diced

Prepare the crust

Make the Pate Brisee dough, roll it out and fit into a 10-inch tart pan. Partially cook it by either lining it with foil and adding pie weights, or setting a slightly smaller pie pan inside it. Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15 minutes till set. Then remove the foil and weights or smaller pie pan, prick the bottom with a fork and and bake another 5 minutes. Take out and let cool before filling

Make the Filling

Heat a small amount butter or oil in a saute pan. Add sausages and saute quickly over high heat to brown. Remove from pan to paper towels to drain. Lower heat to medium high and saute leeks, peppers and 1 tbsp thyme until leeks start to soften. Add garlic and saute a few minutes more. Season with salt, pepper and a pinch of cayenne. Remove from heat to cool.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk eggs and cream together. Stir in the grated cheese and the second tbsp thyme, season with salt, pepper and cayenne.

Assemble and Bake

Spoon the filling mixture into the tart crust. Add the egg mixture gradually, stirring carefully with a fork to distribute the filling ingredients evenly.

Set the quiche on a sheet pan and bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 40-45 minutes until set ( a knife blade inserted into the center comes out clean) and lightly browned.

Serve warm or at room temp.