I'm a little afraid to admit it. This is the first quiche I have ever made. I loved it so much that I made it twice in two weeks. The first time I served it to a bridal party that stayed in our home the night before the wedding. We gobbled this up in the morning, washing it down with some traditional mimosas, while getting our hair and makeup done at the kitchen table. The second time? Well, it was Christmas morning right before we headed to the airport to board our flight to see my family. It was the perfect dish to put together the night before, for both events, then quickly warm in the oven in the morning for fast consumption.
Quiche Lorraine is the most well-known quiche recipe out there. It's basically a pie with a custard filled with bacon, egg and cheese. The crust can be made of store-bought or homemade pie crust or puff pastry. Pretty filling for a meal in itself, but I'm sure you'll find yourself reaching for more than one piece.
Recipe Card
Quiche Lorraine
Ingredients
- 1 recipe pie dough , prepared frozen pie crust, or puff pastry (thawed)
- ½ lb bacon , cooked until crispy and chopped
- 3 eggs
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 heaping tablespoon chopped chives
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup grated Gruyere , Swiss, or other cheese
Special tools:
- pie weights , dried beans or copper pennies
Instructions
- If using pie dough or puff pastry, roll out the dough into a 12-inch circle. Using a rolling pin, transfer the dough to a 10-inch wide, 1 ½-inch high tart pan. Press the dough into the corners, cut off excess edges. Place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes before pre-baking the crust in the next step.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the frozen crust from the freezer and line with heavy aluminum foil or parchment paper. Allow for a couple of inches to hang over the sides to protect the crust edges from browning too much. Fill two-thirds with dry beans, pie weights or copper pennies. If using a pan with a removable bottom, place on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any spillage. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven (if using puff pastry, the crust will have swelled. This is okay.) Remove the foil or parchment paper along with the pie weights. With the tine of a fork, poke holes all around the base of the crust. Return to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and set aside. Leave the oven on at 350 degrees F.
- Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Add the nutmeg, salt, black pepper and chives, then whisk again. Add the milk and cream, then whisk vigorously to incorporate and develop air into the mixture, which keeps the texture of the quiche light and fluffy.
- Layer the bacon and cheese in the bottom of the pie crust.
- Whisk the egg-milk mixture hard again for a few seconds, then pour gently into the pie crust. The bacon and cheese should suspend into the mix. If not, use a fork to gently stir it up. The chives will also float to the top. Arrange chives with a spoon or fork to where you'd like them to appear.
- Bake the quiche for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the quiche is golden and slightly jiggles. Cool on a wire rack.
- Store covered in the fridge for up to 6 days. Serve warm (reheat in oven at 200 degrees), cold or at room temperature.
- Source: Slightly adapted from Simply Recipes
