Ingredients
Pastry
- 250 gplain flour
- 125 gcold butter, cubed
- 1egg yolk
- 3 tbspcold water
- ½ tspsalt
Filling
- 250 glardons, from smoked poitrine fumée
- 3whole eggs
- 3egg yolks
- 300 mldouble cream
- 150 mlwhole milk
- a good grating of nutmeg
- black pepper
- salt, sparingly
Note
- there is no cheese and no onion in a quiche Lorraine
To serve
- a green salad
Directions
- Rub or pulse the cold butter into the flour and salt until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs with some larger flakes. Leave some butter in flakes, because those become steam pockets and make the pastry short and flaky. Bind with the yolk and as little cold water as will bring it together.
- Chill it an hour, then roll it out and line a 24 cm tin, leaving the pastry proud of the rim. Leave an overhang and trim it only after baking, because pastry shrinks down the sides and a flush edge disappears. Chill the lined tin again for 30 minutes. The second chill is what stops the sides slumping in the oven, and it is not optional.
- Fry the lardons in a dry pan until they render their fat and colour lightly, then drain them well. Drain them properly. The rendered fat pooling in the custard makes it greasy and it can stop the custard setting evenly.
- Whisk the whole eggs, extra yolks, cream and milk together with the nutmeg and pepper. Whisk gently and do not beat air into it, because bubbles make the custard puff and then collapse. Salt it sparingly, because the smoked lardons bring a great deal. Strain the custard through a sieve. Scatter the lardons over the base of the pastry case.
- Pour the custard in, filling it to just below the rim. Do not fill it to the very top, because it rises as it bakes. Bake at 160°C (320°F) for 35 to 40 minutes. Bake it low. A hot oven makes the custard boil, which turns it grainy and weeping rather than silky.
- Take it out while the middle wobbles. It carries on setting as it cools, and a quiche baked until firm is overcooked and rubbery.
- Rest it at least 20 minutes before cutting. Serve it warm rather than hot, or at room temperature, with a green salad. Warm rather than piping hot is the French way, and the custard tastes of more when it is not scalding.
Technique
- Poitrine fumée, smoked belly, is the traditional bacon and gives the characteristic flavour.
- It reheats reasonably in a low oven and badly in a microwave.
- It keeps two days refrigerated.
Substitutions
- Any good smoked streaky bacon, cut into lardons.
- All double cream and no milk, for a richer custard.
Variations
- Quiche vosgienne, with cheese.
- Quiche alsacienne, with onion.
- With leeks, as a flamiche.
History
From Lorraine, where the name comes from the German Kuchen; the original filling was only eggs, cream and bacon, without cheese.
Frequently asked questions
What is Quiche Lorraine?
Quiche Lorraine is a main from France: savoury egg-cream tart with smoked bacon. From Lorraine, where the name comes from the German Kuchen; the original filling was only eggs, cream and bacon, without cheese.
How long does Quiche Lorraine take to make?
Quiche Lorraine takes 30 min plus 1 hr chilling of preparation and 1 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 8 servings. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Quiche Lorraine?
Yes, within limits. Any good smoked streaky bacon, cut into lardons. All double cream and no milk, for a richer custard.
What is the most important thing to get right in Quiche Lorraine?
Chill it an hour, then roll it out and line a 24 cm tin, leaving the pastry proud of the rim. Leave an overhang and trim it only after baking, because pastry shrinks down the sides and a flush edge disappears. Chill the lined tin again for 30 minutes. The second chill is what stops the sides slumping in the oven, and it is not optional.
