Quiche Lorraine

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the shortcrust pastry: tip the plain flour and fine sea salt into a large bowl, add the cold unsalted butter and rub between your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs with a few pea-sized pieces of butter remaining. Stir in the cold water a little at a time and bring the dough together with a light hand. Form into a flat disc, wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

2. 2

   Preheat the oven to 190°C fan/210°C conventional. On a lightly floured surface roll the pastry to a circle slightly larger than your tin and gently line a 23–25 cm fluted loose-bottom tart tin. Trim the edges and prick the base all over with a fork.

3. 3

   Blind bake the case: line the pastry with baking paper and baking beans (or dried rice) and bake at 190°C fan/210°C conventional for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and beans and return to the oven for 5–7 minutes until the base looks dry and the edges are just beginning to colour.

4. 4

   While the case bakes, cook the filling ingredients: heat a frying pan over a medium heat and add the smoked streaky bacon. Fry for 5–7 minutes until browned, then add the brown onion and cook for a further 3–4 minutes until soft. Tip the bacon and onion onto kitchen paper to drain and cool slightly.

5. 5

   Make the custard: in a large jug or bowl whisk the eggs with the double cream and whole milk until smooth. Season with a little of the fine sea salt, black pepper and a light grating of nutmeg. Stir in the grated Gruyère cheese and the cooled bacon and onion.

6. 6

   Reduce the oven to 180°C fan/200°C conventional. Pour the custard into the blind-baked case and smooth the top. Bake for 30–35 minutes until the custard is set around the edges with only a slight wobble in the middle — it will continue to set as it rests.

7. 7

   Remove the quiche from the oven and set aside to rest for 15 minutes. Release from the tin, scatter over the chopped flatleaf parsley if using, slice and serve warm or at room temperature.

Tips

• Keep everything cold when making pastry — cold butter gives those flaky layers. If the butter softens, pop the dough in the fridge for 10–15 minutes before rolling.
• When blind baking, weigh the edges down with baking beans or dried rice to stop the sides from collapsing; remove beans and return to the oven briefly to dry the base.
• Don’t overfill the tart case — aim for the custard to sit slightly below the rim to avoid spillover and ensure even cooking.
• If your edges brown too quickly during the final bake, cover them loosely with foil halfway through to prevent burning.
• Quiche keeps well: refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days; reheat gently in the oven at 160°C fan/180°C conventional for 10–12 minutes.

Substitutions

• Gruyère cheese → Comté or mature cheddar, same quantity (150 g)

  Stays close

• smoked streaky bacon → streaky pancetta or unsmoked back bacon, same quantity (200 g)

  Noticeably different

• plain flour → gluten-free plain flour blend, same quantity (200 g) — use a blend suitable for pastry

  Stays close

• double cream → single cream plus 50 g mascarpone (to reach similar richness), adjust to taste

  Noticeably different

Nutrition

Per serving · estimated

720

Calories

19 g

Protein

28 g

Carbs

59 g

Fat

1 g

Fibre

3 g

Sugar

780 mg

Sodium

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