Quiche Lorraine Pizza

Perfect pizza for breakfast. Or brunch. Or lunch. Or dinner. Or “it’s-3am-I-just-got-in-and-need-to-eat”.

I do a lot of talking about my undying love for the sweet combination of peanut butter and chocolate. In my savory world, the combination of bacon and cheese is held in much the same regard. They were made for each other and I love them in so many forms… a bacon cheeseburger, fontina-stuffed, bacon-wrapped dates, an omelet, and of course they ever-popular Quiche Lorraine (you remember the Quiche Lorraine Scones I made, right?). Now, let me be straight with you. I’m a pepperoni pizza kinda girl. It’s my favorite, always has been and always will be. There’s nothing I’d rather be eating when I sit down to watch a Penguins or Steelers game. BUT, sometimes I like to experiment. And I love when experiments turn out to be fabulous. I recently read that back in the day when the Germans and French first started eating what it now known as Quiche Lorraine, the bottom crust was actually made using bread dough. I thought it was interesting, and then immediately thought… “Pizza!” And… voila!

The traditional Quiche Lorraine is composed of a crust (usually a flaky pie-type crust), which is filled with an egg and cream custard that includes some type of pork meat (most often bacon), cheese (typically Gruyere, or another Swiss variety), and onions. I took this and ran with it for a gourmet pizza. The crust was the historical bread, in this case pizza, dough, leeks (a bit of an upgrade from your everyday onions), bacon and Swiss cheese, with eggs cracked on top. The only component missing was the cream, and I think brushing melted butter on the crust was a good substitute.

So, there you have it! Quiche Lorraine pizza… it was delicious. I’m still a pepperoni pizza girl, but something different every now and then (on non-game days) is always welcome! And, my mom said it was the best pizza she has ever had, ever. She may have been saying that because she’s my mom, but she’s a big pizza fan too, so I’m taking her at her word.

What’s your favorite type of pizza?

One year ago: Eggplant Lasagna Tart with Parmesan-Basil Crust
Two years ago: Beef Wellington

Quiche Lorraine Pizza

Yield: 1 12-inch pizza

Prep Time: 30 minutes | Bake Time: 10-15 minutes

½ batch Basic Pizza Dough
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 leek (white and light green part only), thinly sliced
6 slices bacon, cooked and roughly chopped
8 ounces Swiss-style cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)
3 eggs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Prepare the pizza dough to the point of letting it rest after it has risen. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

2. While you wait for the pizza dough to rest, melt 1 tablespoon of the unsalted butter in a skillet over medium heat and saute the sliced leeks. Season with salt and pepper and saute until they are soft, about 5-7 minutes. Set aside to cool.

3. Once the pizza dough is ready, shape it and place it on a pizza pan or peel (whatever your typical method is to make pizza at home). Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and brush it over the pizza crust. Top with the sauteed leeks, then scatter the bacon over the leeks. Top with the shredded cheese. Crack the eggs over the cheese (evenly spaced) and season the top of the pizza with freshly ground black pepper.

4. Transfer the dough to the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the cheese is melted and starting to brown.

* Note 1: For detailed instructions on preparing homemade pizza dough, please see the recipe for Basic Pizza Dough.

* Note 2: If you bought a pre-made pizza shell or prepared dough, just pick up the instructions on step #2. Just be sure to use the oven temperature specified for the pizza shell or dough you are using, if given.

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