Gruyère Pie Crust:
Preparation: 20 minutes | Total Time: 3 1/2 hours | Measurements for a 9″ deep dish pie crust
Ingredients
1 1/3 cups flour
6 tbsp cold butter cut into cubes
1 cup grated Le Gruyère
2 tbsp ice water (add 1 tbsp at time)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
- Combine flour, salt, and sugar in food processor. Add grated cheese and pulse until texture resembles sand.
- Add butter in cubes, pulse until dough forms pea-sized pieces. Don’t over incorporate the butter, as this step will ensure a flaky crust.
- Slowly add ice water. Start with 2 tbsp, pulse into dough. Add 1/2 tbsp at a time until dough is still crumbly but will come together in a ball if formed with your hands. The exact measurement of water will depend upon the humidity of your location*.
- Roll into ball. Pat into a thick disk. Wrap with saran wrap and rest in the refrigerator for 2 hours (minimum 1 hour, maximum overnight).
- Once rested, take dough out of fridge and place on counter to bring to room temperature for 15-20 mins.
- Roll out dough, using your pie plate to measure (dough should be rolled out to 3″ wider than pie plate depending on how deep pie plate is.*
- Lightly press dough into the plate and place back into the fridge to rest for 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Remove crust from refrigerator, line with foil or parchment and fill with beans, rice, or baking weights. This is called par-baking.
- Bake crust for 15 minutes. Dough will still look pale, and edges will be slightly golden. Remove weights and foil or parchment, before filling with the quiche filling.
Quiche Filling:
Preparation: 20 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour | Serves: 8
Ingredients:
2 cups zucchini sliced rounds
2 cups asparagus sliced on diagonal
1 cup grated Le Gruyère
1 cup grated Appenzeller
1/4 cup shallots sliced thinly
2 tbsp butter
1 clove garlic minced
5 eggs
1 cup creme fraiche
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Salt & Pepper to taste
Chives to garnish
- Heat 1 tbsp butter in a pan, sauté zucchini on medium high heat until just cooked.
- Heat remaining butter in a pan, sauté shallots in medium low heat until transparent, add a pinch of salt & pepper, and add minced garlic and asparagus. Turn heat up to medium, sauté until asparagus is bright in colour and just cooked.
- While vegetables are sauteeing, make the filling by whisking five eggs with creme fraiche, nutmeg, a pinch of salt and pepper. Fold in 2/3 of the grated cheese.
- Layer vegetables on top of crust. Start with zucchini, asparagus mix, then more zucchini and asparagus on top so vegetables are visible and decorative when finished baking.
- Pour the egg mixture into the pie, top with remaining cheese.
- Bake at 350° for 40 to 45 mins, until the filling has puffed up and set and cheese is browned. Insert a knife or toothpick into the filling, it should come out clean.
- Let rest for 20 minutes before cutting.
- Garnish with chives.
Recipe Pro-Tips:
- You can easily make this quiche recipe using a store-bought crust, but we prefer this cheesy pie crust made with Le Gruyère.
- Prepare the dough for the pie crust the night before. The next morning, take out the dough, let it rest, then roll out and bake the crust for a fresh and delicious brunch dish.
- Add the water to the dough slowly — you don’t want the dough to be too sticky. We used just under 4 tbsp of water but it depends on the humidity of your environment.
- If the dough is crumbly when you’re rolling it, put dough between two pieces of wax paper to roll out. Use the wax paper to transfer disk to pie plate gently.