Leek, Egg and Cheese Torta

This is an alternative ‘Santa’s breakfast’ dish with brie and leeks as the stars instead of bacon. It’s a breakfast or brunch dish that you make the day before and pop into the oven the next morning and enjoy the scent from the oven as you sip your first coffee of the day. We’ve been making it for years for Christmas Day (a lot for two people, but we freeze half and enjoy it a few months later) and have also made it when family and friends visit us.

This is our first Christmas back in Canada since we moved to Germany, and we completely forgot to make it for Christmas Day! It was my mother that reminded us about it. So, we made it instead to share with family on New Year’s Day.

As you will see in the pic below, it was 30 seconds away from being burnt. As Ralph put it, it had a nice deep suntan. So, I included a pic of my stepdaughter’s version (featured image) so you get an idea of what it looks like without so much sun.

The original recipe is from Lucy Waverman that we first discovered in an LCBO Food & Drink issue.

Serves 8

Ingredients:

2 tbsp (25 mL) olive oil
6 leeks, white part only, sliced (Ralph uses 2 large leeks or 3 smaller)
1/2 tsp (2 mL) dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground pepper
12 slices thinly sliced bread, crusts removed
1 cup (250 mL) grated Cheddar cheese
8 oz (250 g) Brie, chopped
1 tbsp (15 mL) Dijon mustard
1 tsp (5 mL) hot pepper sauce
6 eggs, beaten
3 cups (750 mL) half and half or whipping cream

Instructions:

Heat oil in skillet on medium heat. Add leeks and sauté for 5 minutes or until beginning to soften. Add thyme and season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat.

Butter a 9 x 13-inch (3 L) baking dish. Layer half of bread slices. Top with half of leeks and half of Cheddar and Brie. Make a second layer of bread, leeks and cheeses.

Whisk together mustard, hot pepper sauce, eggs and cream. Season with salt and pepper. Pour over bread layers. Let sit covered for 1 hour or overnight in refrigerator.