Just in case you were looking for a delicious way to mesh eggs, vegetables, potatoes, cheese, and bacon, I present to you: the Loaded Baked Potato Crustless Quiche.
If you weren’t in the market for such a method, I recommend you try this anyway.
Immediately after I perfected my Kale & Egg Quiche with Sweet Potato “Crust” – I could not wait to make it again, using all sorts of different themes and ingredients. Thanksgiving Leftovers? It almost bakes itself – bring on November. Italian? Why not – everything “Italian” is delicious. Loaded Baked Potato? Check. It. Out.
I love all the things that go in loaded baked potatoes. Broccoli, cheese, and bacon, to name the heavy hitters. Chives, salsa, and a dollop of Greek yogurt, to name the things I bought to use on this quiche but forgot to get out of the refrigerator because I was so excited to take pictures of it – and EAT IT.
I sliced two unpeeled medium-to-large Russet baking potatoes in my food processor set with the slicing disc; one potato was sliced into circles (the “short way”?) and the other, into ovals (the “long way”?). I overlapped the round slices into concentric rings in the bottom of the pie pan, and used the ovals to make the pretty rise along the rim. The exposed edges browned up perfectly, with the thin potato skin and golden flesh bolstering the “baked potatoness” of the dish. The two potatoes made enough slices for two quiches, but the second “crust” was more of a patchwork of the leftover slices, so if you are looking for presentation points, have another sliced potato on hand so you have more slices to pick from.
I crisped up the bacon in the microwave while I was sautéing the veggies, and opted to use cheddar and monterrey jack cheeses in this quiche. You can use any cheese you think complements a baked potato. The fun thing about loading up a baked potato – or this quiche – is that anything goes.
This is a great recipe to serve to a group, or to make on Sunday and have for breakfast for a few weekdays. I get envious looks when I am heating a slice of this in the work microwave!
- 2 medium to large baking potatoes
- half of a sweet onion
- 6 stalks of lacinato kale
- 1 small crown of broccoli
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 3 to 4 eggs
- .5 c shredded cheddar cheese
- .5 c shredded monterrey jack cheese
- big spoonful of goat cheese
- .25 c skim milk
- 3 pieces of bacon, crisped
- kosher salt and freshly-ground pepper
- Heat the oven to 400.
- Using a food processor's slicing disc or a mandolin, slice the potatoes as thinly as possible. Slice one the "short way" and one the "long way" so you have different shapes to choose from.
- In a glass pie dish, lay the round sliced potatoes in a circular pattern. Overlap the pieces so when it bakes and they shrink a little, they are still overlapping. Lay the oval pieces in an overlapping circle around the rim of the pan. You may not use all of the potato, but make sure you can't see any pie pan through the potato.
- Bake the potato "crust" for 15 minutes at 400.
- After 15 minutes, remove the pan from the oven, and lower the heat to 375.
- But let's not get ahead of ourselves; while the potatoes are baking, prepare the filling.
- Chop or dice the onion into small pieces, slice the kale into very thin strips, chop the broccoli, and slice the garlic.
- Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat, and when it's warm, coat with a bit of extra virgin olive oil. When the oil is warm, add the onion, and cook until it starts to brown. Add the broccoli and kale, and cook until they are bright green and tender, and the moisture has cooked out of the vegetables. Add the garlic and cook until light brown and fragrant.
- Prepare the bacon in the method of your choosing. Make sure it's crisp!
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together. Add the cheeses, crumbling the goat cheese as you add it. Stir in the veggie mix, and stir to distribute the eggs throughout. You can sprinkle the bacon on top, or mix it in to the filling. Both methods worked well for me.
- Pour the mix into the potato crust and smooth it out to ensure it is evenly distributed.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until the eggs are set (test if they are set by pressing down on the top of the quiche with a wooden spoon. No egg should leak out when you apply pressure).
- Serve hot, cold, or at room temperature, based on your quiche preferences.
Adapted from my own recipe: http://www.myutensilcrock.com/2015/04/11/kale-and-egg-quiche-with-sweet-potato-crust/
Tell me what you think!