I made this this morning for our brunch - just a half one - I have a great little pie tin that I can just cut in half most recipes for a full size pie tin/plate.
I'll repost the recipe so we can all find it again....
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Ham, Leek and 3 Cheese Quiche
1 round of refrigerated pie dough for a 9 inch pie, ( from a 15 oz package) not a preshaped frozen pie shell
3/4 lb leeks, ( about 3 medium, white and pale green part only)
2 Tbsps unsalted butter
1/4 lb thinly sliced smoked ham
3 oz Gruyere, coarsely grated, about 1 Cup
3 oz Italian Fontina, coarsely grated, about 1 cup
3 oz whole milk mozzarella, coarsely grated, about 1 Cup
3 large eggs
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 3/4 cups creme fraiche
Prebake pie dough in pieplate according to package instructions, then remove from oven and reduce temperature to 350F.
Meanwhile, halve leeks lenghtwise and cut crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces, then wash well in bowl of cold water, agitating leeks. ( Their words, not mine). Lift out and drain leeks in a colander and pat dry. Melt butter in a 10 inch heavy skillet over moderately low heat and cook leeks, stirring occasionally until very tender, about 10 minutes.
Line warm pie shell with sliced ham, overlapping layers as necessary to cover bottom and side of shell completely. Toss cheeses together and sprinkle evenly into pie shell ( do not pack cheese ), then spread leeks evenly on top of cheese. Whisk together eggs, nutmeg, pepper until combined well, then whisk in creme fraiche until smooth.
Carefully pour half of custard filling on top of pie filling, gently moving cheese with a spoon to help custard disperse evenly. Slowly add remaining custard in same manner. Cover pie loosely with foil, gently folding edges over crust, ( keep foil from touching top of cheese mixture) and transfer to a baking sheet.
Bake until centre of filling is puffed and set ( centre will be slightly wobbly but not set, about 1 1/2 to 1 1/2 hours). Cool on a rack at least 20 - 30 minutes before serving ( filling will continue to set as it cools) Serve warm or at room temperature.
The leftovers were great cut into thin slivers that night, and seved with a mustard sauce as an app.
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two things - the flavors are just wonderful, just luscious!
BUT, I think (IMO, I repeat, IMO only) I think the directions are a little ridiculous -
"Carefully pour half of custard filling on top of pie filling, gently moving cheese with a spoon to help custard disperse evenly. Slowly add remaining custard in same manner."
I did this, but I sure won't again. There is no reason the 'custard' can't be tossed together with the cheese and leeks and just poured in over the ham. I think if you use the thin slices of ham that are called for, laying them out like that probably helps keep the crust - crusty.
I used regular ham, so I just diced it up and scattered over the bottom and it worked well.
Anyway, that's my thots - I will certainly make again. The flavor makes this such a nice mellow dish for a brunch. (the only problem, my little pie tin made four great slices......but Roy had two! So now, we have to fight over the remaining