Quiche Lorraine

Quiche is one of the most basic French recipes to master. It’s extremely versatile in that you can fill the tart or pastry dough with any vegetable ingredients that suit you. When I lived with a French family, Francine made quiche nearly every weekend using freshly ripened ingredients from her garden along with the usual egg and cream batter. One of my favorite renditions is Quiche Lorraine – bacon, Gruyère cheese, and chopped onions.

Start with plain pastry dough. I always make mine from scratch (see recipe here and below), but store bought is fine. Once you’ve prepared the dough, set it aside and begin prepping the ingredients below.

• 1 tablespoon of bacon drippings
• 1 cup of thinly sliced onions
• 1 1/2 cups cubed Gruyère cheese
• 6 slices of crisp bacon, crumbled
• 4 large eggs, beaten lightly
• 1 cup each heavy cream and milk,
• or 2 cups light cream
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

Cook onions in the bacon drippings until they are transparent. Cover the pastry dough (as prepared here and below) with cheese, onions, and crumbled bacon. HINT: Francine always smeared a teaspoon of mustard over the surface of the dough before adding the ingredients.

Combine remaining ingredients and pour over the top. Bake in a preheated very hot oven (450 degrees F) for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to moderate (350 degrees F) and bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean – 15 to 20 minutes.

Allow the quiche to set-up before serving or refrigerate for later. Quiche can be reheated in the oven or microwave very easily.

Served with a green salad and Riesling wine, this is a delicious meal.

PASTRY DOUGH

Making your own pastry dough is a simple three-step process as follows:

• 1 cup sifted all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
• about 3 tablespoons cold water

Sift flour into a mixing bowl. Mix in butter and shortening with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add water and blend quickly. Press the damped particles together into a ball. Do not over handle the dough, keep it cool. Then, roll the dough into a circle 1/8 in think and 2 inches larger in diameter than the tart pan.