I’ve been hearing about quiche Lorraine all my life. I’m not sure I’ve ever tried it – I must have somewhere along the line. I’m sure my mother made it back when I was a kid and I just forgot about it. Whatever the case, I prepared a wonderful quiche Lorraine just a few days ago and it was superb.
The Recipe
This is another one of Mary Berry’s excellent recipes that I found in her Complete Cookbook. It’s a very simple recipe, but there are some areas that need explanation. I actually failed at preparing this quiche the first time around because I didn’t take some parts of baking the crust seriously. My first crust melted in the oven right in the tin. The second time, I followed the baking instructions carefully and was successful. Otherwise, this is easy to prepare. Just caramelize the onions, cook the bacon, add some cheese and eggs, and bake the entire thing in the oven. It doesn’t get any easier than that.
Ingredients
Serves: 4
1 Pre-made Pie Crust
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 Onion, Diced
4 Slices of Bacon, Cut into 1″ Pieces
4 Ounces Swiss Cheese, Cubed into ½” Pieces
1 Cup Single Cream
6 Eggs
½ Teaspoon Salt
¼ Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
Note – I went with a pre-made crust for this recipe because it was simply easier to deal with. In Mary Berry’s recipe, she calls for a freshly made crust. I couldn’t justify the time and hassle it would have taken to make one of those, so I just bought one from the store. It pains me to write this because I pride myself on cooking from scratch, but this was one fight I wasn’t interested in.
Bake the Crust
Let the pie crust completely thaw if it’s currently frozen and then allow it to rest at room temperature for a few hours before unrolling. If you attempt to unroll the crust while it’s still chilled, it’ll stick and crack.
Pre-heat your oven to 425°. Then, fit the pie crust to the quiche pan carefully. Press the edges of the dough against the walls of the pan and then use a rolling pin to cut off the excess. Simply roll the pin along the top of the pan and you’ll see that it cuts off the excess very neatly.
Next (this is critical), place a piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil on top of the crust and gently push it so it’s snug against the walls of the pan. Then fill the area on top of the paper or foil with uncooked rice or beans. Basically, if you were to bake the crust in the tin without securing it against the sides of the pan, because of the butter content in the dough, it was melt to the bottom. I have experience with this happening. To combat this, you need to secure the dough to the sides of the pan and then use some weight to keep the paper or foil in place.
Next, place the pan into the oven on the center rack for 15 minutes. After that, remove the pan from the oven, remove the rice or beans and the paper or foil, and place the pan in the oven for another five minutes. After this, the crust should be golden brown. Remove the pan from the oven and reduce the heat to 375°.
Cook the Bacon & Onion
While the crust is baking, warm a large skillet over medium heat on your stove top. Add the bacon to the pan and let cook for about five minutes. Then, add in the butter and the onion. Continue to cook and stir for another 10-15 minutes until the bacon is cooked and the onion is softened and starting to brown.
Add the bacon and onion to the pan and then add in the Swiss cheese as well. Be sure everything is spread evenly.
Add the Eggs & Cream
In a medium sized bowl, whisk the eggs, cream, salt, and pepper. Then, add the contents of the bowl to the pan as well.
Bake the Quiche
Place a piece of aluminum foil lightly over the pan, keeping it from touching the eggs. The purpose of this is to stop the crust from burning. Then, place the pan into the oven on the center rack for about 25 minutes. During this time, the eggs should firm up. When that happens, remove the foil and move the pan to the top rack and gently broil the eggs for a few minutes to add some browning to the cheese. Keep an eye on the crust. You don’t want that burning.
Once finished, remove the pan from the oven and turn off the heat. Your quiche should look like this.
Plate & Serve
After the quiche cools for a few minutes, you can pop it out of the pan and cut it into pieces. Plate, serve, and enjoy!
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