Healthy Blog: Three Cheese Pie with Leeks, Mushrooms and Spring Peas

I wanted to call this an Eggless, Three Cheese Quiche but my 5 year old daughter who is my editor in training adamantly insisted I "call it what it is, a Three Cheese Pie!" Which by the way, she "liked almost a lot but not as much as tacos." Back to the drawing board.

This is a recipe my mom has been making since I was a little girl and I've tweaked it just a little varying the cheeses and fillings which can be done to your liking each time. My mom calls this a torte, call it what you will, I've made this pie twice this week, yes twice. If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram you are well aware of the fact that after hours of preparation (mostly cosmetics and prop work) I eagerly pulled my first quiche out of the oven forgetting it had a removable bottom and the outer ring which had been in the oven for 45 minutes then the broiler for 5 found itself sizzling on my bare wrist. As any dedicated chef would do when the sun is quickly setting and all hope of snapping a decent picture is fading away, I left the scalding hot metal ring on my wrist trying to find another towel or pot holder for at least 7.5 seconds.

Then, I dropped my beautiful quiche/pie/cheesey disaster right onto the open oven door.

And cried.

So here we are having "Cheese Pie" 2 days in a row. I'm o.k. with that. My daughter wants tacos.
The suffrage of little children who are born to food bloggers.

The second attempt was more glorious than the first (I pretty much burned the pastry edges in trying to beat the setting sun) and so all is good. Due to the fact ~~that I had a faulty tart pan~~ dropped my first pie, I am extending the giveaway from Lucerne for a $100 giveaway to Safeway Stores. My misfortune is your good luck!

Please do enter HERE, the odds are good and the Lucerne assortment of cheeses even better! I do most of my shopping at Safeway and am a Lucerne Dairy lover from way back!

Ingredients

1-2 tablespoons olive oil (mushrooms require more oil)

1/2 pound baby bella mushrooms, sliced

1 leek (*white and light green parts only) sliced lengthwise twice then chopped

1/2 cup frozen peas

3/4 cup half and half

10 ounces ricotta cheese

8 ounces white sharp cheddar cheese, grated

3 ounces crumbled goat cheese

1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

generous amount of freshly ground black peppercorns

Tomato wedges for spreading on top

Saute mushrooms & leek in oil for a few minutes. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients (except tomatoes) & pour into baked pie shell. Top with tomato wedges.

Bake 325°F. 45 min. Cool slightly. Cut into wedges & serve

For the Crust

1-1/2 c flour

1/4 t salt

1/2 c butter ~ 6 tablespoons ice water.

Blend first 3 ingredients in a Kitchen Aid mixer til butter is thoroughly blended in and it looks somewhat like cornmeal. Add ice water, one tablespoon at a time, while blending, til dough comes together into a ball. Roll out to a size slightly larger than your pie plate. Roll crust onto rolling pin and place on pie plate. Prick the pie shell a few times with a fork and bake in preheated 400°F. oven, for 8 minutes only.