Quiche Lorraine

Hello and welcome! One of my favorite dishes any time of day is quiche. Quiche hit its heyday in America in the 1980’s. And that’s when quiche became kitsch. Remember the book, Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche…? (written by Bruce Feirstein) It came out in 1982 and was a tongue-in-cheek guidebook that satirized the masculine stereotypes of the era. The title is a direct response to the fad of quiche being a feminine, “ladies who lunch” type of food. Funny, because quiche has a long European history dating all the way back to the 12th century. So today we’re going back to the origins of quiche with Quiche Lorraine.

The Prep

Although the addition of cheese came some time later in its history, we are definitely adding cheese; Gruyere, to be specific. But you can substitute Swiss. Otherwise, we have bacon, eggs, cream, lightly caramelized onions, Parmesan, nutmeg, salt and pepper. First things first: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

I am using store-bought pie dough, so I simply unwrapped and rolled it out slightly because I have a 10″ pie plate. We will blind bake the pie dough so lay some parchment in the bottom and add some dry beans to cover the bottom of the dough.

I bake my bacon (because I always burn it in the pan!), so I have my 4 bacon strips on foil, on a quarter sheet tray in the oven next to the pie dough. I will blind bake the dough for 8 minutes and take it out, while keeping an eye on my bacon. When my pie dough came out, I brushed it with an egg wash (egg white beaten with water) and popped it back in the oven for 5 minutes to ensure against a soggy bottom. And about then, the bacon was ready. So I pulled it out and set the strips on a paper towel to absorb the fat. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees.

Meanwhile…

While the pie dough and the bacon were cooking I diced my onions. Once the bacon came out, I added a tablespoon of the bacon fat to a skillet and got my onions going on medium-low. Let your onions go for about 15-20 minutes, stir them occasionally. Meanwhile, grate 1 cup Gruyere and 1/4 cup Parmesan. Measure out 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

We have four eggs, lightly beaten, and one and a half cups heavy cream. Chop the bacon into strips. By now the onions should be lightly caramelized. Whisk the seasoning and the cream into the lightly beaten egg. Take the par-baked dough and add a layer of the Gruyere.

Then add the bacon, Parmesan and more Gruyere. Next, the onions and then top with any remaining Gruyere.

Strain the egg mixture through a fine mesh sieve over the pie. You can see from the pictures that my dough is not very high at some spots, so I baked it on a sheet pan in case of overflow. Put it in the oven for 30 minutes.

The Herb Salad

While the quiche is baking, let’s make a little herb salad to go with it. A simple little salad is the perfect compliment to the rich creaminess of the quiche. I have flat leaf and curly parsley – the last of what’s in my garden! You can use arugula if you like.

It’s super simple: just rough chop your leafy herb and mix with some minced shallot. Drizzle a little olive oil, sprinkle a little Kosher salt and a little black pepper. Add a splash of your favorite vinegar, mix well and that’s it!

Back to the Quiche Lorraine

Check it at the 30 minute mark with a cake tester or knife. If it comes out clean it’s done. Mine went a full 40 minutes. And, thanks to the clear pie pan, I was able to see that the bottom was still a bit pale. So I put the quiche on the bottom rack of my oven (minus the sheet tray) and baked it for another 15 minutes. It came out golden and beautiful on the bottom (and the top!).

Let it rest for 10 minutes before cutting into it, if you can!

Top with the herb salad and enjoy!

While my true love is pizza, quiche is a close second. While I have been making quiches for ages, I had never made a Quiche Lorraine. I honestly don’t know why I waited so long! I am always getting fancy with the goat cheese and asparagus…but the original quiche is by far my favorite. And topped with the herby, vinegary salad just puts it over the top. So good!

I hope you make Quiche Lorraine! It’s perfect for dinner, or make it next weekend for brunch! Let me know how it goes for you; here on the blog, or on Instagram, facebook or Pinterest. In case you missed it, yesterday was the inaugural post in my new series, Sunday Supper. The recipe: Lemon Pepper Sheet Pan Chicken; check it out! Take care everyone, be well and have a great Monday! xo Kelly

Print Recipe

Quiche Lorraine

(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Dinner, Main Course, Brunch, Breakfast – American/European Origin

By Kelly Djalali – Serves: 4-8

Prep Time: 20 minutes – Cooking Time: 55 minutes – Total Time: 1 Hour 20 Minutes

The OG of Quiche. Quiche Lorraine is bacon, Gruyere, onions, and an eggy, creamy custard in a flaky pie crust. Topping with an herb salad is optional, but highly recommended.

Ingredients

• 1 ~9" Pie Dough
• 4 Eggs (Plus 1 egg white for egg wash)
• 4 Strips of Bacon
• 1 Medium Onion, Diced
• 1 cup Gruyere Cheese (or Swiss), grated
• 1/4 cup Parmesan, grated
• 1.5 cups Heavy Cream
• 1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. Black Pepper
• 1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt
• Herb Salad
• 1 bunch Flat Leaf Parsley
• 1 small to Medium Shallot
• Drizzle of Olive Oil
• Splash of your favorite Vinegar (Apple Cider, Balsamic, Red Wine, etc)
• pinch of Kosher Salt
• pinch of Black Pepper

Instructions

1

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2

Line a 9-10" Pie plate with dough and flute edges. Lay parchment over dough and place dried beans in bottom. Blind bake for 8 minutes.

3

Remove beans and parchment from dough and brush bottom with egg wash and bake for 5 more minutes.

4

Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees.

5

Fry or bake bacon. Set bacon on a paper towel-lined plate. Reserve 1 tablespoon of bacon grease for cooking onions.

6

Sauté onions over low to medium heat for about 20 minutes, until lightly caramelized.

7

Grate Gruyere and Parmesan.

8

Whisk together the lightly beaten eggs with cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

9

In the pie dough spread a layer of Gruyere, then add the bacon, Parmesan and more Gruyere, add the onions and then top with any remaining Gruyere.

10

Strain the egg mixture through a fine mesh sieve over the pie.

11

Bake for 30 minutes. Check doneness and bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out out clean. Likely, 10 more minutes.

12

Let quiche rest for at least 10 minutes.

Herb Salad

13

Rough chop herbs, mince the shallot and place in a bowl.

14

Drizzle olive oil and mix.

15

Add pinches of Kosher salt and pepper.

16

Add splash of vinegar and mix well.

Notes

If your quiche is done at the 40 minute mark but the bottom is still under-baked, place quiche on bottom rack in the oven and bake for 10-15 more minutes.