Krete – Leek Quiche with a “WOW” effect

Leeks are AMAZING! What a delicate oniony taste and what an appetizing aroma… My mouth is watering just thinking about them… whoever invented them is a genius! 🙂 I am so happy they are one of the symbolic “Rosh Hashanah” dishes. My Savta (grandma) used to make leek patties for the Jewish New Year, and since the idea is to emphasize the leek flavor I didn’t mind modifying this dish and turning it into delicious individual quiches.

They are a hit every year and even though I like to keep them unique to this holiday only, I find myself making them whenever I’m hosting and in need of a WOW kind of starter.

The “play on words” in Krete:

As all other symbolic Rosh Hashanah dishes “Krete” also suggests an extra meaning… “Krete” in Aramaic refers to leek and in Hebrew, the sound and root of the word “Krete” means “to remove” or “to eliminate”. In this blessing we wish to eliminate any foe and to remove any harmful thinking.

.יהִי רָצֹון מִלְפָנֶיךָ ה’ אֱלֹהֵינּו ואלֹהֵי אֲבֹותֵינּו שֶיִּכָרְתּו אֹויבֵנּו וכָל מבָקְשֵי רָעָתֵנּו

You will need:

(makes about 12 individual quiches)

2 Leek stalks

¼ cup Olive Oil

3 Garlic cloves

½ cup toasted Pine Nuts

2 cups of shredded (Challah) Bread (1 cup wet & 1 cup dry)

5-6 large Eggs

½ tsp. Turmeric

¼ tsp. White Pepper

¼ tsp. Black Pepper

1 tsp. Salt

Let’s get to work!

The main work with leeks is making sure they are super clean.

You know how it is growing so close to the ground and all…well maybe you don’t, but mud and sand always get stuck between their beautiful folds.

The best way to get them clean is to cut them one time at the bottom to remove the root and one more time in the middle where the dark green meets the white and the looser folds tighten up.

I usually get rid of the first outside leaf, and cut the two parts in the middle lengthwise. This makes it easy to get in between the folds and find every possible grain of sand… Wash them in cold water and allow them to dry slightly.

Since we are using all parts of the leek, let’s chop them thinly and as even as possible.

Put the chopped leeks in a big sauté pan over medium heat. The goal is to soften the leek and get the most out of it sweet flavor.

Initially, it looks like a lot of leek, but the heat wilts them down and the big pile reduces in size. Stir and mix every so often it takes about 10-12 minutes for the leeks to completely soften.

Meanwhile finely chop the garlic cloves and once the leeks are soft add the chopped garlic to the pan. Lower the heat to low, mix and cook for a minute or two.

Let’s toast Pine Nuts:

For small amounts, I like using a small pan on low to medium heat. Arrange all pine nuts in one layer and move the pan every so often to make sure the pine nuts are tossed and get evenly toasted.

Remember, pine nuts are delicate and they get toasted pretty quickly. Keep an eye and nose on them, they’ll be ready as soon after you start smelling them. Not to be dramatic, but one little distraction and the pine nuts are burnt.

I LOVE using Challah bread it’s the best, but any type of bread will do. Allocate one cup of shredded Challah bread and wet it slightly (about 1 tablespoon of water). Set the other dry bread shreds aside, we will use them at the very end…

Transfer the leek and garlic mixture into a big bowl. Add toasted pine nuts and 1 cup of lightly wet bread shreds.

Add spices and salt and mix well.

Time to add the eggs. I ended up using 5 eggs for this mixture…another time I used 6 eggs…maybe the leeks were a little bigger…but take a look at the texture of the mixture it looks loose but not too liquidy. Mix well as always 🙂

Using a cupcake pan is the BEST for these individual quiches; just spray the tray for an easy quiche release 🙂

Transfer the mixture directly to the cupcake pan…a little bit in each cup until the mixture reaches the top.

For the grand finale, top each mixture with dry bread shreds and coarse salt. Spray the top lightly or drizzle olive oil.

Move these puppies to a 350° preheated oven for about 35 minutes (took 30 minutes in convection oven setting) until the top is golden and the quiches are firm to the touch.

There you have it, they are out of the oven: Leek Quiches at their full glory!

They look awesome and they taste even better

Serve warm or at room temperature and just…

Enjoy!

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Quick Recipe:

Krete Leek Quiche-

Clean Leek stalks well by cutting them lengthwise revealing the folds.

Thinly slice the Leeks.

Sauté Leeks in a large pan over medium heat until soften (about 10 minutes).

Add chopped Garlic, mix and cook for another minute.

Transfer into a large bowl.

Combine with wet Bread shreds, toasted Pine Nuts.

Add spices: Turmeric, White Pepper, Black Pepper and Salt.

Mix well.

Add Eggs and mix again.

Transfer to a cupcake tray, top with dry Bread shreds and coarse Salt.

Spray or drizzle Olive oil on dry bread topping.

Bake at a 350° preheated oven for about 35 minutes (took 30 minutes in convection oven setting).

Serve warm or at room temperature.