Caramelized Pear & Gorgonzola Quiche
All of the ingredients in this compact closet cooking quiche, including the crust just make sense together. Each bite incorporates sweet caramelized pear, luscious gorgonzola, savory pancetta and a nutty flakey crust. This is what the fall tastes like folks.
Ingredients:
WALNUT BUTTER PIE CRUST:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup ground walnuts (toasted before ground)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
8 tbsp (1/2 cup or 1 stick) unsalted butter (cold, cut into 1/2" cubes)
3-4 tbsp ice cold water
QUICHE:
1/4 cup pancetta (diced)
1 large shallot (diced)
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 pears (cored & sliced into bite sized pieces)
4 eggs (lightly beaten)
1 cup half & half
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 cup gorgonzola (crumbled)
1 pre-baked walnut butter pie crust
WALNUT BUTTER PIE CRUST: Pulse the flour, ground walnuts, salt and sugar in a food processor to mix.
Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles a corse meal, about 6-8 times.
Add a tablespoon of water at a time pulsing in between until it starts to clump together.
Place the dough on a clean surface and shape it into a disc.
Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Roll the dough into a 12″ circle about 1/8″ on a lightly floured surface.
Place the dough into a 9″ diameter spring form pan with the edges going up the side of the pan.
Place a piece of parchment paper in the pie and fill it with rice, beans or pie weights to hold it down. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 15 minutes.
Remove the parchment paper and weights and poke the bottom of the crust with a fork a few times. Bake until a light golden brown, about 10 more minutes.
QUICHE: Cook the pancetta and shallot in a pan.
Add the butter and let it melt. Mix into sautéed pancetta and shallot.
Add the sugar and cook until bubbly, about 3 minutes.
Add the pear and sauté until tender, about 3-5 minutes.
Mix the pears, eggs, half and half, thyme and gorgonzola and *pour it into the pre-baked pie crust.
Bake in a preheated 375F oven until golden brown on top and set in the center, about 25-45 minutes.
*I wrap the bottom of my springform in foil in case of leaking… extracautious. Just want to avoid the possibility of a mess in the oven
