Quiche lorraine

It would be difficult to overlook this classic tart in the long list of so-called ‘French specialties’ and while its name suggests it originated from Lorraine, a French region in the far north of France, the first version of a quiche was called kuchen and was German in origin. The method of adding vegetables, meats and condiments to a curd made of eggs and cream cooked in pastry dates back over 500 years and was a very popular technique used throughout Anglo-Saxon gastronomy.

This versatile and delicious dish can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner, or even served as canapés at a cocktail party.

Serves 6–8

225 g (8 oz) Pâte Brisée

200 ml (7 fl oz) whipping cream (35% fat)

200 ml (7 fl oz) full-cream milk

4 eggs

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

fine salt, to taste

250 g (9 oz) speck or smoked bacon, cut into 1 cm (½ in) pieces

100 g (3½ oz) gruyère cheese, grated

L You will need a 25 cm (10 in) tart ring or tart tin with a removable base. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured work surface until about 5 mm (¼ in) thick, moving and fluffing up the dough with your hands so it doesn’t stick. Line the tin with the pastry, leaving a little excess overhanging the side of the tin. Unlike fillings for sweet tarts, which are often firmer, fillings for savoury tarts are often runny and more likely to spill over the rim and down the side, especially as the pastry tends to shrink a little during baking, so it is better to trim the excess pastry after the tart has cooked. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

L Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line the pastry shell with foil, making sure the side of the shell is covered, then fill to the top with uncooked rice or baking beads. Blind bake for 20 minutes, or until the base is golden. Remove the rice and foil and set aside until cool.

L Put the cream, milk and eggs in a bowl and beat together using a hand-held whisk. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a jug, then add the pepper and season to taste with salt. When seasoning the filling for any quiche, consider the salt content of your ingredients and adjust the amount of salt accordingly.

L Heat a small frying pan over high heat and add the speck, without adding any extra fat. Stir continuously until golden, then remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel. Spread the speck evenly over the tart shell, then scatter with the gruyère. Place on a baking tray on the bottom shelf of the oven, then carefully fill the shell to the top with the egg mixture. Filling tarts already sitting inside the oven means you won’t need to precariously walk around the kitchen balancing a quiche full of liquid cream.

L Bake the quiche for 40 minutes, or until the filling is just set. Remove from the oven and immediately use a sharp knife to cut the excess pastry from around the top of the tin. Serve cold or warm. The quiche can be stored, covered in plastic wrap, in the fridge for 3–4 days.

tip

Here’s an easy formula for making a quiche when you can’t find the recipe: 1+1+1. The basic recipe consists of 1 part milk, 1 part cream and 1 part egg. Whatever else you add is up to you.