My Farmers market finds are transformed into a delicious Autumn Harvest Quiche with mushrooms, leeks, butternut squash, bacon and sage. Perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner that can be enjoyed warm or cold and even on-the-go.

Serving a slice of Autumn Harvest Quiche

This quiche filling consists mainly of vegetables, but I did sneak a little bacon in there to optimize the flavor. It’s like the perfect breakfast and I could eat this everyday. I sometimes make one on a Sunday so I have quick breakfast that I can warm up for chilly weekday mornings.

A whole quiche just out of the oven on a cooling rack

You have to have a good crust

The key to any good pie, or in this case quiche, is a good crust because the whole package has to taste good. If you’ve ever had a quiche with a bad crust, you know what I’m talking about. Tastless, dry or even tough, the filling can be overwhelmingly tasty but if the crust is bad, it’s a total fail.

I am using my foolproof pastry dough that I used for minced beef and onion pies.  It’s moist, flaky and buttery and comes out perfect every time. It’s a very versatile pastry too, as I mentioned I used for the pies, this time for the quiche and another recipe that is coming up soon.

A view of the quiche from above

How to make easy pastry in the food processor

I make my pie pastry in the food processor, but if you don’t have one it can easily be made by hand by rubbing the butter into the flour. Now, I’m not going to tell you what to do in your own kitchen and you could use a ready made pie crust, but since this pastry is so easy it really is worth making your own.

A quiche that travels well

This is a nice quiche idea for taking a slice or 2 on the go. The day after I made the quiche, I went on an overnight trip and since I knew there would be a fridge in my hotel room, I brought a slice of quiche and a salad and I knew that I had a delicious dinner without having to order room service.

If you are looking for other quiche ideas, I have a recipe for a potato and vegetable quiche that is not only stunning, but delicious too

Autumn harvest quiche - Buttery, flaky crust with a mushroom, bacon, butternut squash, leek and sage filling.
Yield: 8

Autumn Harvest Quiche

Autumn harvest quiche - Buttery, flaky crust with a mushroom, bacon, butternut squash, leek and sage filling.

Autumn harvest quiche with mushrooms, leeks, butternut squash, bacon and sage. 

Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

For the pastry:

  • 1 1/2 cups (225 grams) all purpose flour, plus 1/4 cup for rolling out pastry
  • 1/2 cup/8 tablespoons (113 grams) unsalted butter, cubed and kept cold until ready to use
  • Small pinch of salt
  • 1/4 cup (59 ml) cold water * see note

For the filling:

  • 3 slices bacon , cut into bite-size pieces
  • 1 ounce (28 grams) mushrooms, cut into bite-size pieces
  • 1 leek (white part only) cleaned and cut into small pieces
  • 1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
  • 1/2 cup (65 grams) butternut squash, cut into small cubes and boiled for 5 minutes
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup (59 ml) whole milk
  • Small pinch nutmeg
  • 1/4 cup (25 grams) cheddar cheese grated
  • Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 °F/190 °C.
  2. To make the pastry in a food processor: Add the flour, salt and butter. Pulse until you get the texture of fine breadcrumbs. With the processor running, slowly drizzle in cold water until it forms a ball and immediately stop.
  3. To make the pastry by hand: Add the flour, salt and butter to a large bowl. Using your fingertips (or a pastry cutter) rub the butter and flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Drizzle in the water and mix using a fork until the it starts to come together and holds together when pressed in your hand. You may not need all of the water.
  4. Remove the dough and knead a little on a floured board until smooth.
  5. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.
  6. For the filling:
  7. To a sauté pan, cook the bacon over medium heat. Drain and set aside. Keep bacon fat in pan.
  8. Return the pan over medium heat and add the mushrooms and leek to the bacon fat. Cook until softened. Stir in the sage, butternut squash and a small pinch of salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and set aside.
  9. To a mixing bowl add the eggs and milk and whisk until combined. Add the nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and whisk until combined.
  10. Add the bacon, leeks, mushrooms and butternut squash to the eggs and mix well. Stir in the cheese. Set aside.
  11. Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and roll out onto a floured surface, larger than the quiche pan.
  12. Roll the pastry over the rolling pin and lift into a 9 inch round tart pan pressing the bottom firmly and the sides allowing the pastry to hang over the sides. Do not stretch dough. *see note
  13. Cover the pastry in parchment paper and fill the center with dried beans or uncooked rice.
  14. Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven and remove the foil and beans or rice.
  15. Remove the excess crust from over the edges to make it look pretty.
  16. Return the crust back to the oven for 5 more minutes until it start to brown. Remove from the oven.
  17. Allow the crust to cool for a couple of minutes then pour in the egg mixture almost to the top. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.
  18. Bake for 20-25 minutes until set and golden brown.

Notes

* You may not use all of this. Just use enough until the dough comes together.
* Stretching the dough will cause the it shrink when baked

Nutrition Information

Yield

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 414Saturated Fat 17gCholesterol 152mgSodium 190mgCarbohydrates 27gProtein 8g