Marcella’s Southern Quiche

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I never had Tater Tots growing up. Both my mom, Miss Anne, and my grandmother, Lillie Mae, who both influenced my cooking abilities  – especially Lillie Mae, never served frozen potatoes, in any form. I can’t remember when I was finally introduced to TTs, sometime in California, where, according to Miss Anne, I moved to get away from her and was never the same again…

I confess that I am still not a big fan of tater tots but my BCF, Nathan Aldridge, lives and dies on the tater tot mountain. In 2014 we were opening a Murray’s in Nashville and had lunch downtown at Merchants. Although he refused to admit it, I’m pretty sure he picked Merchants because they had Duck Fat Tater Tots on the menu in the first floor bistro. I checked their website today and the TTs are still featured at the top of the menu. Maybe it was Nathan’s enthusiasm or maybe it was the duck fat; whatever, they were the best TTs I have ever eaten.

Recently, on a whim, I ordered a bag of frozen tater tots with my pick-up order (one of the few good things to come out of the pandemic – grocery stores offering online order and pick-up without ever interacting with other people… not that I have anything against other people… just sayin’). I threw them in the freezer and immediately forgot about them…

Fast forward to this morning… my BCF Nathan was on my mind following the Crimson Tide squeaking by LSU last night and while planning meals for the day, I thought of tater tots… and I also thought of quiche…I perused the internet looking at quiche recipes and then quiche recipes that included TTs. Most used TTs as the bottom crust. I decided to go with the traditional pie crust, mainly because I had already thawed one, instead use tater tots as a topping.

Here’s what I did:

Ingredients:

Prepared frozen pie crust (If you prefer making your own, knock yourself out) – I use up the frozen rolled-up ones

8 Slices Bacon – crispy and crumbled

1 Onion – thinly sliced half moons

1 Jalapeno – chopped

1 Bell Pepper – chopped

3-4 Large Eggs

1 Cup Heavy Cream

1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard

8 ounces Semi-Hard Cheese – Shredded – Divided (I used Parrano because I had it on hand and I LOVE it)

2-3 Cups Tater Tots

Preparations:

Cook bacon till crisp. Set aside. Retain bacon grease. Use spatula and scrape up bottom of pan. Leave grease and scrapings in pan.

Caramelize onions in bacon grease and scrapings. Set aside and drain off excess bacon grease.

Nuke tater tots in microwave for 90 seconds. Set aside.

Bake pie crust at 350F (325F in Emeril Air Fryer) in oven – prick it first – bake until lightly brown – about 5-8 minutes. Set aside.

Whisk together eggs, cream and mustard.

Layer crumbled bacon, onions, peppers into pie crust. Sprinkle half of cheese on top.

Mix tater tots and rest of shredded cheese. I used a zipped bag.

Pour egg mixture over mixture in pie crust.

Top with tater tot/cheese.

Bake at 350F (325F in Emeril Air Fryer) for 45-60 minutes until knife inserted in middle comes out clean.

Let stand 10-15 minutes.

Enjoy and clean-up the kitchen.

Can be served warm, room temperature or cold.

6 servings.

Only 4 days left in the Rogue Creamery Cheese and Swag giveaway. Just in time for your Thanksgiving table. Enter daily to increase your chances to win.

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In addition to being a member of the Internationale Guilde des Fromagers (Jura and Garde) and an American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional, I am a Certified ServSafe Food Production Manager with certifications that also include ServSafe Certified Instructor and Proctor. I am available for cheese events, cheese program development, cheese training, food safety training and 3rd party food safety auditing. See my About Me and Resume pages for more details or call me at 360 921 9908 to discuss availability.

 

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