Quiche Lorraine

If you haven't tried Quiche Lorraine, you really should.  My husband is not a big fan of quiches, but they are something that has always struck a cord.  They remind me of Easter Sunday where sometimes the maker knew what they were doing and it turned out well, but the other times the quiche was wet and leaky and just not so good.  (Those were more the mass produced for a large group of people.)  Quiche Lorraine is different though because it isn't a thick quiche, so the flavors of whatever you put in it - in this case crisp bacon and a bit of cheese - really comes through without having to weed through all the eggy batter to figure out what the flavor should be.

Another good memory of Quiche Lorraine was on a visit to Germany.  My parents had an exchange student whose family I was visiting.  They live on the boarder with France.  One of the many delicious meals I ate with the family included a Quiche Lorraine.  It was quickly put together and it helped feed the family gathering we were at one afternoon.

I was reading through Homemade by Clodagh McKenna which is where I stumbled across her version of Quiche Lorraine.  This is based off her recipe.

Quiche Lorraine  (serves about 8)
Pastry:
1 1/2 cups flour
pinch of salt
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 egg, slightly beaten

Filling:
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
bacon - I used thick cut bacon, about 5 -6 pieces fried (about a cup), broken or cut into pieces
4 eggs beaten
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup cream
salt and pepper to taste

Pastry: sift the flour and salt into a bowl.  Rub in the cold butter until you have a small crumbly texture.  Add the egg and and bring the mixture together to form a dough.  (Add water if the mixture is too dry.)  Wrap in plastic and place in the refrigerator for half an hour.  Remove from the refrigerator and roll out the dough into a big round.  Butter a tart pan and place the dough on it.  Chill again until the filling ingredients are ready.

Preheat the oven to 375F.  Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place parchment and dough weights in the center.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Remove the pie weights and parchment and return the pie shell to the oven for another 3-5 minutes.  Reduce the oven temperature to 325F.  Sprinkle the cheese onto the bottom of the pie shell.  Sprinkle the bacon bits on top of the cheese.  Combine the eggs, milk and cream and whisk.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Pour the mixture over the bacon and cheese.  Trim the pastry.  Bake for 30-40 minutes or until set.  Remove from the oven and let cool.  This will allow the pastry to set a bit more as it cools.  Slice and serve.

Crustless Broccoli and Cheese Quiche

 Eating quiche always makes me think of the those watery ones that my family would eat at church on Easter after the very early sunrise service.  Despite the not good as you might think eggs, I liked them.  I liked the tradition that went with eating the ham and eggs.   While this is not that same quiche, it is a while lot better.  It is based off of Keepers (Brennan and Campion) broccoli quiche.  I don't always like the combination of the eggs and cheese, but this one is well balanced and the cheese is not rubbery at all.  Plus, because there isn't a crust, it can be made very quickly.  If you like quiche for dinner, this would make for a quick week night meal.

Broccoli and Cheese Quiche
3 cups broccoli florets (about 1 large head of broccoli) or a combination of broccoli and cauliflower
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I used sharp cheddar)
1 cup 2% milk (though you can use any the creamier the better)
2/3 heavy whipping cream
6 eggs
nutmeg
pepper
salt
butter or oil to grease the pie plate

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Grease a 10 inch pie plate.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season it with salt.  (This keeps the broccoli green.)  When boiling, add the broccoli, stir and blanch for just a minute or two.  Drain the broccoli and rinse with cold water (to stop the cooking).  Dry the broccoli and place in the bottom of the grease pie plate.  Add the cheese evenly over the broccoli.

In a separate medium sized bowl, whisk together the milk, cream, eggs, nut (a pinch or two to taste), 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper (also to taste).  Whisk until smooth and then pour over the cheese.  Bake until the egg mixture is just set in the center, about 35-40 minutes.  Let cool a little before serving.

Spinach Quiche

I was baking so much the past few weeks, so I needed a break from all the sweet stuff and have added some savory recipes to balance out all of the high sugar content recipes.  Recently, I have been craving some nice greens.  Therefore, I went out and bought some spinach with is useful in so many ways.  It is such a versatile green that it is delicious eaten raw, but equally delicious chopped up and cooked.  This recipe is from my family in New Zealand.  It was one of the first things I learned to make when I was there, and I still go back to it when I am craving a piece of spinach quiche.

Spinach Quiche

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Crust:

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

4 tablespoons cold butter

ice cold water

Mix dry ingredients and then rub in the butter.  Add cold water by the tablespoon until dough comes together.  Roll out dough and place in a pie or quiche plate.

Filling:

4 eggs

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (less if you want the flavor more subtle)

3/4 cup milk

1/2 large onion

spinach to taste, though at least 1.5 ounces

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

In a food processor with the cutting blade place the eggs, salt and pepper, nutmeg and milk.  Blend in and add the onion and spinach leaves.  Finally, mix in the grated cheese.  Pour the filling into the pie plate.  Place in oven for about 45 minutes or until gently set.  (It should not be liquid in the middle so judge the time based on how wiggly the middle is.)

Makes one pie plate (about 8 servings)