Pinot Gris Pairing Suggestion: Campbell Family Spring Quiche
Egg dishes are a spring tradition and in our family that means quiche. Elk Cove Co-Founder Pat Campbell’s recipe includes braised leeks, eggs from the neighbor’s chickens, and a tasty nod to her Swiss heritage: Gruyère cheese.
At Elk Cove, we love Gruyère so much we buy it by the quarter wheel. A word to those of you who might be tempted to substitute what’s marketed in the US as “Swiss cheese”. According to Pat, she hasn’t eaten American Swiss cheese for at least 20 years! While somewhat similar to Swiss Emmentaler, Pat says the cheese with the holes “doesn’t even taste like cheese.” So splurge on the gruyère. If you have some leftover, it makes a fantastic open-faced grilled cheese sandwich. We like to melt ours under the broiler and add a fresh slice of tomato.
Why are we so attached to gruyère cheese? Well, it’s one way we’ve hung on to our Swiss heritage. Pat’s ancestors came from the remote mountain town of Adelboden, Switzerland, where they raised dairy cows and had a small hillside creamery for making alpine cheeses. As immigrants to the small town of Helvetia, Oregon, our ancestors continued to work in dairy and also made a small amount of wine, which it turns out, is very good with cheese. Generations later, our family is still farming in Oregon and we still love pairing alpine cheeses like Gruyère with our wines.
Back to the quiche: this recipe is a crowd-pleaser and perfect for a simple brunch, but it can be made in batches for a larger gathering. Back in the 1970s and 80s, Pat Campbell would bake dozens of these quiches for our annual Riesling Festival. We sold them by the slice alongside sausages from the nearby town of Verboort. We even hired a local Swiss-German oompah band for the entertainment. Delicious memories of those festivals are why Pat’s daughters Eartha and Anna requested this quiche for the Elk Cove recipe collection.
This quiche pairs beautifully with a simple green salad and our Pinot Gris. Cheers and bon appétit!
RECIPE
For one 8-inch pie pan. Have crust ready. Any pie crust works, even thawed from frozen, so long as it’s not sweet. Pat likes to use well-chilled ¾ butter and ¼ lard (in place of shortening) when making her crusts, but your favorite unsweetened pie crust recipe will work just fine.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups leeks sliced – just the tender white and pale green parts
1 tablespoon butter
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup thick lean bacon sliced into 1-inch x ¼ inch strips*
3 eggs
1 cup cream
1/2 cup grated gruyère cheese
Pinch nutmeg
Instructions:
1) Boil sliced leeks in 1 cup water, butter and 1/4 teaspoon salt for 5 minutes. Reduce heat and simmer until most of the liquid is gone and the leeks are very soft.
2) Parboil bacon in 1 cup water for 1 minute, drain and pat dry with a paper towel, then brown lightly in a frying pan.
3) Whisk 3 eggs with 1 cup cream and then stir in gruyère cheese, add 1/4 teaspoon salt and nutmeg.
4) To assemble quiche, spoon leeks evenly into the pie crust, followed by the bacon. Pour egg mixture slowly and evenly over the top.
5) Bake for 30-35 minutes at 375° F until the middle of the quiche is firm to the touch.
6) Let cool 20 minutes before cutting.
Serve slices of quiche cold or hot. Pair with a simple salad and a glass of Pinot Gris. Enjoy!
