Here’s what happened. I had leek that needed to be used, a bag of gorgeous tomatoes from a friend’s garden, and an open package of bacon. And I wanted quiche. A savory, buttery, leeky, tomatoey, bacony quiche. But I wasn’t in the mood to make the crust. Can you relate? You want pie but you just dread the thought of having to make the crust? Yeah, that’s the kind of mood I was in A crust-less mood. You know the kind. But still, I wanted quiche. And I’m generally usually almost always the kind of girl who likes to have her way.
And thus this BLT Polenta Quiche was born.
That’s where the idea of whipping up a polenta crust came into play. No cutting in cold pieces of butter with flour, adding ice water, kneading it into a dough, forming it into a ball, refrigerating it for goodness knows how long, rolling it out, pressing it in…etc, etc. And it wasn’t even about the time. I just didn’t want to bother with making crust. So no, none of that. Just a simple boil-the-water-add-the-polenta-stir-until-cooked-press-in-quiche-pan-and-bake Yes, I was liking the sound of that. Plus, it’s something different than the day-in/day-out flour crust. Score. 
To save time, I roasted the tomatoes and cooked the bacon together in the oven. Those cooked while I prepared the polenta and chopped the leek. Perfect.
The resulting polenta-crusted quiche was delightful and a nice change from the norm. Next time I’m going to experiment with a kind of Mexican polenta-crusted quiche. I’m thinking something with smoky chipotles (maybe added to the actual polenta) with melted queso fresco…hmm, I’m liking the the sound of that, too. But I digress. Today we’re having Bacon, Leek and Roasted Tomato Quiche with Polenta Crust!
Oh, and for those of you who eat gluten-free, this is definitely for you, too!
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Bacon, Leek and Tomato Quiche with Polenta Crust
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 mins
- Yield: 4-6 1x
Description
Pastry crusts are the most time consuming obstacle in making a delicious quiche — this quick and easy polenta crust solves that, and makes the whole dish gluten-free.
Ingredients
For the Polenta Crust:
- 1 3/4 cup (420 ml) chicken broth
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) coarsely ground cornmeal
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) butter
For the Quiche Filling:
- 2-3 slices thickly cut bacon
- 3 large Roma tomatoes, cut in half
- 1 large leek, sliced, washed and drained
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) butter
- 1 cup (240 ml) half and half (or milk for less calories)
- 3 eggs
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup (240 ml) flavorful cheese, such as Swiss or gouda, grated
Instructions
- To roast the tomatoes: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the tomatoes cut side down on a foil-lined cookie sheet. Lay the bacon next to the tomatoes. Roast the tomatoes and bacon for 17-20 minutes, or until the skins of the tomatoes have collapsed and are just barely starting to brown and the bacon is crispy. Let sit until cool enough to handle and then chop the onions and break the bacon up into small pieces. Set aside.
- In the meantime, to make the polenta crust: In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken broth to a boil. Add the cornmeal in a gradual stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook, whisking frequently, for about 15-20 minutes until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan into a firm, sticky mass.
- Grease a quiche pan and press the polenta mixture into it and up the sides.
- In a preheated oven at 400 degrees F, bake the polenta crust for 15-20 minutes until slightly crispy on the edges.
For the quiche filling
- Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat, add the leek and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Combine the half and half, eggs, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth.
- Place the leek, chopped roasted tomatoes, and bacon into the polenta crust. Pour the half and half/egg mixture over it and then sprinkle the cheese over it.
- Preheat the oven to 325 F and bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown on top and the middle of the quiche is firm.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour 20 mins
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 320
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- Warm Asparagus Salad with Bacon, Egg, and Hazelnuts
- Sausage Polenta Bake
Frequently Asked Questions
How is the polenta crust different from a standard pastry crust, and does it hold up like one?
Instead of cutting cold butter into flour, you boil ¾ cup cornmeal in 1¾ cups chicken broth until the mixture pulls away from the pan into a firm, sticky mass, then press it directly into the quiche pan. It gets a 15-20 minute pre-bake at 400°F to firm up the edges before the filling goes in, and the result is a slightly crispy-edged, gluten-free base that the article says makes this “something different than the day-in/day-out flour crust.”
Why are the tomatoes and bacon roasted together rather than cooked separately?
The recipe roasts Roma tomatoes cut-side down alongside the bacon strips at 400°F for 17-20 minutes, which saves an extra pan and lets both finish at the same time. While the polenta cooks on the stove and the leek sautées, the oven does the work on both proteins and vegetables simultaneously.
Is this quiche gluten-free?
Yes — the article explicitly calls this out: replacing the pastry with a cornmeal polenta crust makes the whole dish gluten-free. The filling uses eggs, half-and-half, leek, tomatoes, bacon, and cheese with no flour or other gluten-containing ingredients.
can this be cooked and then frozen?