Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Quiche Lorraine

Classic Quiche Lorraine Ingredients: Onion, Bacon, & Emmentaler Cheese - ooh la la!
Delicious!!!

Everyone loves quiche at our house.  It is a delicious meal for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  Quiche can be served hot, warm, or cold  - I prefer warm.  It's the perfect make-ahead recipe.  This is the best quiche recipe I have ever made and it will be the one I use from now on.   It is really thick (2 inches in height) and both the custard and crust are stars in this dish.  If you don't like the quiche lorraine ingredients then fill your quiche with items you prefer --any type of cheese or vegetable will do.  This recipe comes from Michael Ruhlman's Ratio.  Fitzy purchased this cookbook for me so I think it is only fair that the next quiche I make be delivered to her door. Thanks, Fitzy! 

Quiche Lorraine
adapted from Michael Ruhlman's Ratio (pp. 202-203)

For the crust:
  • 12 ounces flour 
  • 8 ounces butter (1 stick), cut into small pieces, cold or even frozen
  • 2 to 4 ounces ice water 
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
For the quiche:
  • 2 large Spanish (or any other type you prefer) onions, chopped 
  • olive oil as needed
  • 1 pound slab bacon or sliced bacon cooked and cut into 1/4-inch pieces *
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 6 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • nutmeg to taste (about 4-6 gratings)
  • 1/2 cup grated Comté or Emmentaler cheese
 *I cook the bacon in a 400 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes.  Line a sheet pan with foil and put bacon slices on foil - not overlapping if possible.  I check after about 5 minutes, use tongs to turn over the slices, cook for 5 or so minutes more - until brown and crispy.  Remove to a plate lined with paper towels to catch the grease.  This can be done days in advance - store the cooked bacon in the refrigerator until ready to make quiche!
To make the crust:
Combine the flour, salt, and butter in a mixing bowl and rub the butter between your fingers until you have small beads of fat and plenty of pea-sized chunks. You may use a pastry blender instead of your fingers. Add the ice water gradually and mix gently using your hands or a large fork, just until combined—if you work the dough too hard it will become tough. Shape into two equal discs and refrigerate for 15 minutes or until ready to roll.
To make the quiche:
Sauté the onions over medium heat in a few tablespoons of olive oil. Cover them for the first 10-15 minutes then uncover, reduce the heat to medium low, and continue cooking them until they are cooked down but not overly brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and set them aside.
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Place a 9-inch cake pan on a baking sheet (line the baking sheet with parchment). Lightly butter the cake pan and line with parchment. Lay the dough into the pan—leaving plenty of dough overhanging the edges to help it maintain its shape.
Reserve a small piece of dough to fill any cracks that might open in the dough as it bakes. Line the dough with parchment or foil and fill it with dried beans or pie weights so that the crust bakes flat. After a half hour, remove the weights and parchment or foil. Gently patch any cracks that may have formed with the reserved dough, and continue baking until the bottom of the crust is golden and cooked, about 15 more minutes. Remove it from the oven and patch any cracks that may have opened.  The shell should be anywhere between cold and warm when you add the batter, not piping hot from the oven.
Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.
Combine chopped bacon with the onions.
In large bowl, combine the milk, cream, eggs, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and, using a hand blender, blend until frothy. This can be done in a standing blender as well or you can whisk the batter in a large bowl. The idea is to add the ingredients in two layers, using the froth to help keep the ingredients suspended.
Layer half of the onion-bacon mixture into the shell. Pour half of the frothy custard over the mixture. Sprinkle with half of the cheese. Layer with the remaining onion-bacon mixture. Refroth the batter and pour the rest into the shell. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. You can let it overflow to make sure it’s up to the very top. Bake for about an hour and a half, or until the center is just set -there should still be some jiggle in the center.
According to Ruhlman you should allow the quiche to cool, then refrigerate it until it’s completely chilled, at least 8 hours or up to 3 days.  We couldn't wait so we let it cool for a few minutes and ate a few slices.  We did refrigerate the remainder and it was just as delicious two and three days after when ate it cold and also re-heated it to enjoy warm.
Best to reheat slices for 10 minutes in a 375°F on parchment-lined sheet pan.  (You may also use the microwave to reheat but the crust will not be as crispy.)



 
 


  


  


Not perfect but didn't matter!





I made it again with chopped rather than the sliced onions (as shown above)...my family liked the onions chopped!