The earthy sweetness of roasted beets with the aromas of sage are a perfect combination and accompaniment to the sweet funk of gorgonzola cheese, specifically Gorgonzola Dulce. This is a softer, nuttier, sweeter version of the smelly, spreadable cheese. It all really needed to be combined into a lovely quiche – oh, and it needed a pistachio nut crust: Sweet Beet Gorgonzola Sage Pistachio Quiche.
And the story behind this one?
Well, a friend of mine texted me one night asking me,
“How many eggs does a quiche usually have?”
I told her that when I bake a quiche, it’s at least 5 or 6 eggs.
She responded,
“No wonder. This recipe only called for 2!”
Umm…that’s not a quiche. I’m not sure what that is – but a quiche is all about the eggs, of course, and the crust.
So, I baked her one of my own – just to show her what a quiche should really taste like.
Of course I did.
I baked her a Castlevetrano Olive Rosemary Quiche. (Sorry, didn’t blog that one).
She loved it.
Of course she did.
She asked me to bake it again.
I kindly responded, “no.” I don’t ever bake the same thing twice, unless it is the exception of homemade bread or NY Spaghetti Pie.
However, knowing her adoration of beets and stinky cheese, I offered up the alternative: Sweet Beet Gorgonzola Sage Pistachio Quiche.
Sweet Beet Gorgonzola Sage Pistachio Quiche
Crust:
6 Tbs. butter, ice cold, and chopped into 1″ cubes
1 large egg
1 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup shelled pistachios, roasted and salted
2-3 Tbs. ice water
Combine the ingredients (except for the water) in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until crumbly.
Drizzle in the water and pulse until somewhat doughy and beady, but not too wet.
Transfer to parchment paper and form into a nice mound.
Top the dough mound with another piece of parchment paper and roll out into an 11″ round.
Transfer to a pie plate, folding the edges under and fluting with fingers and thumb for a decorative effect.
Transfer to the fridge while preparing the filling.
Sweet Beet Filling:
3-4 large beets, roasted and peeled, and thinly sliced
5 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 cup Gorgonzola Dulce
2 tsp. fresh sage leaves, chopped
sea salt and pepper
fresh sage leaves, chopped
roasted and salted pistachios
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Whisk together the eggs, sour cream, cheese, sage, and plenty of salt and pepper.
Stir in 1/3 of the sliced beets.
Transfer the filling to the chilled pie crust.
Top with the remaining sliced beets and bake for about 40 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the eggs are just about set.
Remove from the oven and top with the remaining sage and pistachios.
Cool for at least 1 hour to allow the eggs to set before slicing and serving.
