Michelle Darmody: How to make a Quiche Lorraine
Quiche has stayed a very popular dish because of its versatility and its adaptability.
Quiche Lorraine is a classic that originates, as the name suggests, in the Lorraine region of France. It dates back to the 16th century. It is a peasant dish that apparently travelled outside of France after World War II, soldiers ate it while there, and then recreated it when back in their home countries.
Quiche has stayed a very popular dish because of its versatility and its adaptability. It serves just as well cold and, in fact, is easier to transport and slice once cold, as it firms up and cuts much easier.
In the traditional recipe, the filling is simply made of eggs and cream with crispy bacon lardons. Cheese has been added in more recent decades. I use a French cheese in keeping with the recipe’s history, but you can use a different one if you prefer.
I love a quiche like this served hot and warm with some fresh green leaves on the side, dressed in a sweet mustardy dressing. The crumbly, buttery pastry and the warm eggy interior are the perfect combination for a summer’s afternoon lunch.
Quiche has stayed a very popular dish because of its versatility and its adaptability. It serves just as well cold and, in fact, is easier to transport and slice once cold, as it firms up and cuts much easier. In the traditional recipe, the filling is sim Servings Preparation Time Cooking Time Total Time Course Ingredients For the pastry 150g plain flour, sieved pinch fine sea salt 75g cold butter, cut into small cubes 1 tbsp cold water 1 egg, beaten For the filling 180g smoked streaky rashers, chopped or smoked bacon lardons 4 eggs 200mls creme fraiche 200mls cream ½ tsp ground nutmeg ¼ tsp cracked black pepper 50g comté cheese, roughly grated Method Add the flour, salt and cold cubed butter to a large bowl. Rub the butter into the flour and salt until it looks like rough breadcrumbs. Add the water and bring the pastry together to form a ball. Wrap this in baking parchment and place into the fridge to firm up. Grease and flour a 9-inch loose base tart tin, cut a disc the same as the base and place it onto the base of the tin. Set the tin aside in a cool place. Preheat your oven to 180ºC/gas mark 4. Roll the pastry about 3mm in thickness and shape it into a disc a few centimetres larger than the base of your tin. Gently lift the pastry over the tin and nudge it into place. Trim off any excess that hangs over the tin. Prick the pastry base all over with a fork. Put a disc of parchment on top of the pastry and fill this with baking beans. Bake the tart case blind for 10 minutes until the edges are just starting to colour. Remove the baking beans and the parchment that was on top of the base. Brush the inside of the pastry case with the beaten egg. Place the case back into the oven for another five minutes or until it is golden. Set the pastry case aside to cool as you make the filling. Fry the bacon pieces until they are just about to change colour. Drain any excess fat and set aside. Beat the egg with a whisk until it gets light and foamy. Beat in the creme fraiche and cream. Stir in the nutmeg as well as the cracked black pepper, add a small pinch of salt. Sprinkle the roughly grated cheese onto the pastry base. Pour the liquid mixture on top of the cheese. Sprinkle the bacon onto the quiche mixture. Bake for 25 minutes or until the topping is gently set and the pastry is golden. Allow to cool in the tin.Quiche Lorraine
If you are using a fluted tart tin, make sure you get into all the crevices with the butter when you are greasing it. After greasing, add a teaspoon of flour into the tin and swirl it around so that all of the butter is covered in flour. This will show you any places the butter missed.
I cut the butter into very small cubes when making the pastry, and I keep them in the fridge until they are needed. The colder the butter throughout the whole process the better. Oily butter leads to tough pastry.
Cooling the pastry before rolling it helps the butter firm resulting in a crisper pastry base. It also prevents the pastry from shrinking as it bakes.
Do not stretch the pastry when rolling it and then placing it into the tin. Gently nudge it into place.
It is good to remove any tough fat from the rashers or bacon lardons when cutting them into cubes. Too much fat will make the quiche mixture oily. It is also worth taking the time to drain the fried pieces of bacon on some brown paper to drain any excess fat.
You can place the pastry case into the fridge for at least ten minutes to firm before baking blind if you wish. Again, it helps keep the final result crisper.
The sprinkling of cheese acts as a barrier to protect the base from going soggy and soft.
When baking the quiche, you do not have to wait until the filling is completely solid. It should have a very slight wobble in the centre.
Allow the quiche to stand in the tin for about 20 minutes before slicing. It will allow the mixture and pastry to firm up. Cutting prior to this will give you very messy slices.
The quiche will last about three days in the fridge. You can freeze the baked quiche if you so wish but it is nicer fresh than defrosted.
While this is called cheese and onion, I tend to use shallots in place of onions as they are softer in both texture and flavour. If you are using onion, choose red onion as it gives a lovely colour to the mixture. Instead of frying bacon, sauté two finely diced shallots gently until they are translucent then remove them from the pan. Re=pplace 50g of comté cheese with 100g of crumbled Cashel Blue. Otherwise follow the recipe as instructed.
In place of the bacon, use 200g of hot smoked salmon roughly crumbled. Adding a handful of peas into the mixture works really well with the smoking flavour of the fish.
Use 100g of crumbly goats cheese in place of the comté. Then I add 150g of chorizo diced fried and drained as you would the bacon. The process of making is the same as the above recipe but I add a tablespoon of red onion jam on top of the quiche mixture before placing it in the oven.
