Red Pepper, Mushroom and Bacon Quiche with Goat Cheese

Cooking breakfast on the weekend is one of my favorite things to do.  Some times I try to get a little fancy when my mom comes into town or we have guests.  I tried making mini quiches when my mom came into town and they were good, but the crust was a little too thick and kind of ruined it.  I tried again when another set of guests came into town.  That wasn't a big hit either.  After evaluating the unsuccessful attempts for the perfect breakfast and listening to feedback from my toughest critic, I decided to do some research and step up my game.  This time, it worked!  So let me share my secrets and the recipe I used...

Ingredients;

Crust:
1 1/4 C flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper, fresh ground
1 stick butter, cold
3 or 4 tbsp ice water

Filling:
6 eggs
1/4 c milk
1 c red peppers, chopped
1 1/2 c mushrooms
6 strips of bacon (you can use sausage as an alternative)
2 small or 3 tbsp shallots, minced
1 tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Goat cheese (to add on top of the quiches)

Let's get started, because that looks tasty!

For the pastry dough, measure all the dry ingredients, chop the cold butter into 1 tablespoon pieces and spread over the dry ingredients.

Using a pastry blender, mix the ingredients until the mixture looks crumbly.  Add 1 tablespoon of ice water at a time, until fully incorporated (see picture below).  The recipe says 3-4 tablespoons of water.  I just used 2 tablespoons.  So be careful not to add too much water.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge.  The pastry dough is good for about day or two (about 24 - 48 hours) in the fridge. 

Take the pastry dough out of the fridge an hour before you start making the filling. 

For the filling, start by chopping the red peppers and mushrooms into small cubes.  Mince the shallots.  Chop the bacon into small pieces.

In a large non stick pan, add the bacon.  On a medium-high temperature, fry the bacon until the pieces have browned.  Remove the bacon from the pan, place on a few paper towels and leave the juices/fat from the bacon in the pan. 

Add the veggies into the pan, turn down the heat to medium and slowly saute the peppers, mushrooms and onions.

Let all of the juices from the vegetables cook out.  It's better for the juices to cook out now then when they are in the quiches.  Add the thyme, chives, salt and pepper once the juices have cooked out.  Turn the heat off and set the pan aside.

After allowing the vegetable to cool, beat 6 eggs in a bowl.  Add the 1/4 cup of milk and add the sauteed vegetables into the egg mixture.  Mix in the bacon.

Remove the plastic wrap from the dough.  Lightly flour your board.  Roll out the dough.  Be sure that the pastry dough is very thin, so that you can almost see through the dough.  Since we are making the small ones, it is important to make the dough thin so the crust is not too thick and does not over power the ingredients in the quiche.

TIP:  When rolling out the dough, I put plastic wrap on top so the dough does not stick to the roller and it is easier to roll out.

Cut a piece of the dough, larger than the round pan and line the pan with the dough, trimming the edges.  Be sure that the dough lines the pan, and the dough is molded into the pan.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

You can fill the tart with pie weights or prick the dough with a fork to create small holes in the dough at the bottom of the tart pan.  Place the pan in the preheated oven at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.  This allows the pastry dough to bake a little prior to adding the filling.

Once you have removed the pie crusts from the oven, fill them to the top with the filling (egg mixture).  Add 1-2 tsp of goat cheese on top.
I got a little excited and forgot to take a picture of the filled tarts before putting them in the oven :)

Bake the tarts at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.  Be sure that the egg has cooked completely.  The crusts will also start to brown.  A good way to see if they are done is by sticking a toothpick into the center to be sure it is not runny but firm.

All done.... thyme 2 taste!

Serving suggestions - You can serve with a side of greens, tossed in a vinaigrette or a fruit salad.  I also sometimes chop fresh basil and sprinkle it on top.

Alternative ingredients - If you are vegetarian, you can omit the bacon.  If you like sausage better than bacon, you can add that instead. 

You can find the tart pan here

Let me know what you think or any other ingredients you try!