Kale and Bacon Quiches with Hash Brown Crust + A Giveaway

It's my second blog birthday! I feel like I've come a long way since my very first post, but last year's blogiversary feels like it was just yesterday. Time flies when you're eating well!

At the risk of sounding sappy, I want to say thank you for stopping by my site. Reading your comments and connecting with you on social media makes my day, and turns the often solitary activities of cooking, photographing, and writing into something that's actually meaningful.

To celebrate the occasion, I made grain-free kale and bacon quiches with hash brown crust. They're like little crispy nests of savory goodness. This was my first time making a potato crust, and I'm totally hooked. I'm even thinking it might work in some sort of a dessert pie (is that too radical?). Here, the crunchy potato tangles hold a filling of eggs, kale, shallots, crisp bacon, and crumbled goat cheese. These are perfect for Easter brunch or any weekend morning (or a blogiversary, of course).

As I embark on my third year of blogging, I'd love to hear from you. What would you like to see more of here on A Calculated Whisk? For example, are you looking for quick and easy recipes, Whole30 meals, desserts, vegetarian meals, or something else? Would you like to see more non-recipe posts (reviews, giveaways, perhaps travel stories)? Whatever it is, I'd love to hear about it in the comments.

Also, to say thank you for all your support, I have a fun giveaway of a paleo prize pack. One winner will receive two jars of Pure Indian Foods organic, grassfed ghee, a canister of Great Lakes grassfed gelatin, and a $25 Whole Foods gift card. Five additional winners will also get a canister of gelatin. You can use it to make panna cotta or add it to smoothies for a healthy boost. The ghee is fabulous for cooking anything and everything, and is also great for baking. To enter the giveaway, scroll down to the end of this post and use the Rafflecopter widget.

Kale and Bacon Quiches with Hash Brown Crust
Yield: 16 small servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

For the crust (adapted from Cookin' Canuck):

5 small Russet potatoes, peeled and grated (about 4 cups grated)
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/8-1/4 teaspoon bittersweet smoked paprika
Freshly ground black pepper

For the filling:

4 slices bacon, sliced crosswise into 1/2-inch thick pieces*
1 shallot, minced
8-10 large kale leaves, stems removed, torn into small bite-size pieces
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
8 eggs
1/2 cup milk of choice (dairy, almond, or coconut)
2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled (optional)

*For a vegetarian version, omit the bacon. Heat one tablespoon of ghee or olive oil in the skillet to cook the shallots and kale.

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin and a 6- or 8-inch mini pie plate with butter or olive oil.

Wrap the grated potatoes in a bundle using a clean kitchen towel, and squeeze it over the sink to remove as much excess moisture as you can. Mix the potatoes in a large bowl with the olive oil, salt, paprika, and pepper.

Put about two tablespoons of the potato mixture into each muffin cup, using your fingers to make an even layer covering the bottom and sides. Use the remaining potatoes to make a crust in the mini pie pan. Bake for about 15 minutes, until golden brown. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F.

While the crust is baking, fry the bacon pieces in a large skillet over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until very crisp. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels.

Pour off all but about a tablespoon of bacon fat from the skillet, and add the shallots. Cook, stirring constantly, until they soften a bit, about 2 minutes. Raise the heat to medium-high and add the kale. Cook, tossing constantly, for about 1 minute, until the kale is just about wilted. Turn off the heat and season generously with salt and pepper.

Beat the eggs and milk in a large bowl. Stir in the kale and shallots.

When the crust and filling are both ready, fill each muffin cup a little more than halfway with the eggs and kale, and pour the remaining eggs and kale into the mini pie pan. Sprinkle the bacon and goat cheese, if using, on top of the quiches.

Return the pans to the oven and bake the muffins for about 15 minutes and the pie for about 20, until the eggs are just set. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Run a small knife around the edges of the mini quiches to loosen them and use a small spoon to scoop them out. Slice the larger quiche into wedges. Serve hot or warm.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I got in touch with two of my favorite brands, Pure Indian Foods and Great Lakes Gelatin, to ask if they would contribute prizes for this giveaway, and they generously agreed. The Whole Foods gift card was purchased by me.

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