Quiche Lorraine

 QUICHE LORRAINE

 
    

A good dish to serve with a fresh salad on the side.  This recipe comes from the once upon a chef web  site.  You can access it here:https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/quiche-lorraine.html and 3/4 of the way down watch a simple video.

It is one of the best recipes I have tried for Quiche.  I tweak it a bit as noted, but still love the taste.

INGREDIENTS

• One 9-inch deep-dish frozen pie crust  (My frozen pie crusts don't look as nice nor as deep as the photo on the their web site, but still do blind bake them) 
• 8 oz thick-cut bacon (about 6 slices), diced  (I usually use ham when it is on sale, cut a couple of slices and cube it)
• ½ cup chopped shallots, from 2 medium shallots (approx.)
• 4 large eggs  (with my pie crusts I think 3 large eggs is sufficient)
• 1¼ cups heavy cream (again I reduce the heavy cream to 1 cup which is exactly 237 ml the 10% cream container is)  (I believe the cream rather than milk makes the difference)
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Pinch ground nutmeg  (I think this is the magic ingredient)
• 4 oz Gruyère, finely shredded (about 1¼ cups) (again, Gruyère is similar to Swiss which is usually cheaper - again I sometimes mix it with cheeses I already have in the fridge - ie cheddar, mozzarella etc)

1. 
   
2. INSTRUCTIONS:
3. 1.  Blind bake the crust: Preheat the oven to 400°F and set a rack in the middle position. Remove the pie crust from freezer and thaw until just soft enough to easily prick with a fork, about 10 minutes. (If there are any cracks in the crust, see note below on how to patch them up.) Prick the bottom and sides all over with a fork. Place the crust on a baking sheet to make it easy to move in and out of the oven. Bake on until lightly golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Keep an eye on it; if it puffs up while cooking, gently prick it with a fork so it will deflate. (If it cracks while baking, see note below for instructions on how to patch it up.) Set aside and reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.
4. 2.  In a medium nonstick sauté pan over medium heat, cook the bacon, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Pour off all but one tablespoon of fat from the pan. Add the shallots and cook over medium-low heat until soft and translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Do not brown. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
5. NOTE:  ham does not leave fat in the pan, so I add a bit of oil to pan, sauté onions, then add a few more veggies - mushrooms, broccoli for example - cook for a couple of minutes, then add the diced ham.  Then set aside.
6. 3.  In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the heavy cream, salt, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg; whisk until evenly combined.
7. 4.  Spread the shallots evenly over the bottom of the cooked crust. Top with half of the bacon, all of the Gruyère, and then the remaining bacon. Pour the egg/cream mixture over top.
8. 5.  Slide the quiche (still on the baking sheet) into the oven and bake at 325°F for 45 to 50 minutes, until the custard is set and lightly golden. Serve hot or warm.
9. Note: Don't panic if your crust has cracks -- you can easily fix it. Make a smooth paste by mixing 1 tablespoon of flour with 1 tablespoon of water. Use your fingers to patch up and fill any cracks, then proceed with the recipe. If the crust cracks while blind baking, patch it afterwards and place it back in the oven for a minute or so to set. It should be good as new.
10. Note to Note:  I sometimes have small cracks in the crust and find that when I cook the egg the cracks are not noticeable.
11.