Home fries or hash browns are such a wonderful side for a breakfast plate! I especially love going to a diner for this treat, mostly because it’s a lot to make at home. (And as long as I’m mentioning this, I’ll give a shout-out to Carl’s Oxford Diner in Oxford, MA! It’s housed in a traditional diner ‘car’ with sliding doors on either end, beautiful wood trim, tiled floor, and enormous portions. Seriously, if you ask for two eggs, you’ll likely get three.)

But back to potatoes and eggs… About a year ago, I made a bunch of mini quiches with potato slices for the crust because it was Passover. Everyone adored it, and I am guessing this is because eggs and potatoes go so well together! This recipe is also a great option for a gluten-free brunch or lunch dish, and with Passover coming up, I wrote about it for this past week’s Berkshire Eagle column.

GLUTEN-FREE GOODNESS

by Elizabeth Baer

This year we are hosting the largest Passover Seder we have ever done! Of course, it’s complicated by the fact that my husband recently had knee replacement surgery and can’t help as much as usual. But he made the brisket and the matzoh balls before his surgery and they are waiting in the freezer for the holiday. I’m really not sure how we will arrange various tables to accommodate 17 people and two highchairs for the babies, but we will make it work!

On the other hand, last year was the most complicated holiday weekend for Passover, as it included a baby-naming for our elder granddaughter before Seder and a baby shower brunch for our younger, yet-to-be-born granddaughter the day after Seder. To make each event feel special, I had to create festive, Passover-acceptable dishes for each one. (And we also put a candle on one of the desserts at the Seder to celebrate an April birthday!)

For the brunch, so as to avoid any grain products, I decided to try making quiche with a crust of sliced potatoes. Everyone adored the flavor of the potatoes and the crunchy edges such that I sometimes have made it even when the season doesn’t require it.

The recipe below is for one large quiche, made in a standard pie plate, and the options for the filling are endless. For that baby shower brunch last year, I made many mini quiches offering three different fillings: broccoli-Cheddar, leek-Parmesan, and smoked salmon-cream cheese with chives. My most recent version had three tablespoons of chopped ramps that I had in the freezer and four ounces of a maple-chipotle chèvre.

It does take a bit more effort than a store-bought crust, but if you are observing Passover, or avoiding gluten for your health or for your guests, this is a delicious option for a crust.

POTATO-CRUSTED QUICHE

Serves 6-8

INGREDIENTS:

2 Yukon Gold potatoes, 6-8 ounces each
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1¼ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
½-1 cup filling – vegetables and/or meat (optional, suggestions below)
4 ounces cheese, shredded or crumbled, depending on the kind of cheese
¾ cup milk
¾ cup heavy cream
3 eggs
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Pinch ground nutmeg
Pinch ground white pepper, or a few grinds of fresh black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 450°F. Line a half sheet pan with two layers of heavy-duty foil for easier clean up.

Peel the potatoes and slice thin, preferably using a mandoline. Try to keep the slices to ⅛ inch thick maximum. This will likely be more slices than you need, but accounts for any that may tear. Place the slices on the half sheet pan on the top layer of foil. Add the olive oil and 1 teaspoon salt and toss with your hands. Spread the slices out so that at most there are two layers in some places. Bake the slices for 10-15 minutes until pliable but not brown.

Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Spray a standard pie plate lightly with cooking spray. Once the potato slices are cool enough to handle, arrange overlapping slices, with half of the oval along the side and the other half along the bottom of the pie plate. Then overlap as many remaining slices as needed to line the bottom. Remove the top layer of foil and place the prepared pie plate on the lower layer just in case of drips.

Scatter your filling choices on top of the potato slices on the bottom of the pan, and then add layer of cheese, whether shreds (for a hard cheese) or crumbles (with something like chèvre or blue). For your filling, you could use cut up vegetables (for leafy vegetables like spinach or something softer like zucchini, sauté first; for something firmer, like broccoli or winter squash, try roasting; and some vegetables can be steamed and shocked in ice water) and/or meat (perhaps browned sausage, crumbled cooked bacon, or prosciutto cut into slivers).

In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, cream, eggs, remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, nutmeg, and pepper until well combined. Pour into the pie pan on top of the filling.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until the custard is set and beginning to brown. Allow to cool at least for 30 minutes before serving.

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One Potato, Two Potato… (Berkshire Eagle Column)