Traditional Quiche Lorraine
shared by Nibblore Cuisine
This classic Quiche Lorraine pairs crisp shortcrust pastry with smoky bacon and a silky egg-and-cream custard—traditionally, with no cheese. Blind-baking keeps the base crisp, while a moderate oven temperature ensures the filling stays tender rather than rubbery. Serve warm with a green salad for an easy lunch or dinner. • Do not overwork the pastry; leaving a few small pieces of butter visible helps create a crisp, crumbly texture. • Season the custard sparingly because smoked bacon is already quite salty. • Remove the quiche from the oven before the centre is completely firm; residual heat will finish cooking it as it rests. • Replace the smoked bacon with unsmoked streaky bacon for a milder flavour. • If double cream is unavailable, use 200 ml full-fat crème fraîche loosened with an additional 50 ml milk. • A 250 g sheet or block of shop-bought all-butter shortcrust pastry can replace the homemade pastry; still blind-bake it as directed. Cover and refrigerate the cooled quiche for up to 3 days. Reheat slices on a baking tray at 160°C for 12–15 minutes; avoid the microwave, which will soften the pastry. The baked quiche can be wrapped well and frozen for up to 1 month, then reheated from frozen at 160°C for 25–30 minutes.
- Total time
- 80 min
- Servings
- 6
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
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Save to my cookbook — freeIngredients
- 200 gplain flour
- 100 gunsalted butter, cold and diced
- ½ tspfine salt
- 45 mlwater, ice-cold
- 200 gsmoked streaky bacon, cut into lardons
- 3eggs, large
- 1egg yolk
- 250 mldouble cream
- 100 mlwhole milk
- ¼ tspnutmeg, freshly grated
- ¼ tspblack pepper, freshly ground
- 1 pinchfine salt
Instructions
- 1Make the pastry: combine the flour and 1/2 tsp salt in a mixing bowl. Rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles uneven, pea-sized crumbs. Add 40 ml of the ice-cold water and mix briefly; add the remaining 5 ml only if the dough is still powdery. Bring it together without kneading, shape into a disc, wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- 2Preheat the oven to 190°C conventional, with a rack in the lower third. On a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry into a roughly 32 cm circle. Line a 24 cm metal tart tin, 3–4 cm deep, pressing the pastry into the corners, then trim away the excess. Lightly prick the base and refrigerate the lined tin for 15 minutes.
- 3Line the chilled pastry case with baking parchment and fill with baking beans or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes. Carefully remove the parchment and weights, then bake for another 7–9 minutes, until the base looks dry and is beginning to turn golden. Remove the pastry case and reduce the oven temperature to 175°C.
- 4While the pastry is blind-baking, place the bacon lardons in a cold 24 cm frying pan. Cook over medium heat for 7–9 minutes, stirring regularly, until golden but still tender. Drain thoroughly on kitchen paper and leave to cool slightly.
- 5In a jug, whisk the eggs and egg yolk just until combined. Whisk in the cream, milk, nutmeg, pepper and a small pinch of salt without creating too much foam.
- 6Scatter the bacon over the hot pastry case. Set the tin on a baking tray, slowly pour in the custard, then bake at 175°C for 25–30 minutes. The quiche is ready when the edges are set and slightly puffed, while the central 5 cm still has a gentle wobble when the tin is nudged.
- 7Leave the quiche to rest in its tin for 15 minutes so the custard can finish setting. Carefully remove it from the tin and serve warm, cut into 6 slices.