Quiche is a delicious savory tart that is typical in French cuisine. It consists of a base of shortcrust pastry, also known as pie crust, which is filled with beaten eggs, cream, and various ingredients, depending on the desired flavor of the quiche. The mixture is then baked to create a creamy and smooth texture inside, complemented by the crispy crust. One of the most popular varieties of quiche is Quiche Lorraine, renowned worldwide for its flavor and versatility. Today, we would like to share with you the recipe for this classic quiche.
As quiche is such a simple preparation with a delicious and versatile filling, you can find them in all types and flavors: with meat, vegetables, cheeses, and various spices. However, one of the most popular is the one we are showing you today, made with grated cheese and bacon. It’s a delight that will please everyone.
Contrary to what you might think, it’s not a complicated dish. Even if you want to save more time, you can always buy the ready-made crust instead of making it yourself. If you choose to buy it, remember that the crust used for quiche is either shortcrust pastry or pie crust. But if you prefer a completely homemade preparation, you can make the crust yourself.
Quiche Lorraine Recipe
We have chosen to make the crust from scratch as well. You will see that this detail will make a difference in our quiche. To start, we will mix the flour, salt, and turmeric with the butter. Gradually, using our hands since we won’t be able to incorporate the butter in any other way. You will notice that it forms crumbs, and that’s the result we are looking for. Then, when we add water, we will achieve a homogeneous and uniform dough.
Once the dough is ready, we will shape it and cover the mold we are going to use with it. We bake it with some weight on top to prevent it from puffing up.
Now that we have finished the crust, we move on to the filling. It’s very simple. We cook the bacon in a skillet and mix it with beaten eggs and cream in a bowl. We fill our Quiche Lorraine crust with this mixture and bake it again.
Quiche Lorraine
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 150 g Flour
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric
- 75 g Butter
- 3-4 Tbsp Water
For the filling
- 2 Eggs
- 100 ml Cream
- 50 g Grated cheese
- 125 g Bacon or pancetta diced
- Salt
- Pepper
Instructions
For the dough
- Let's start our quiche by preparing the dough. In a bowl, put the flour, salt and turmeric. Mix well.Add the butter, well chilled, in small cubes. Mix with your hands until the butter melts. We will have a texture similar to that of bread crumbs.
- Add the water and knead until you get a smooth texture. Make a ball with the dough, wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
- After this time, we put the oven to preheat, at 180ºC. Flour a ready surface and knead for a few minutes. Cover the mold with the dough, so that it covers the entire base and sides. Cut the excess and make some holes in the base with a fork.
- Put weight on the base of the dough (for example with dried vegetables) so that it does not rise while baking. Bake for 20 minutes.
Continue with the filling
- While the dough is baking, we are going to prepare the filling.Cut the bacon or pancetta (whichever we have chosen) into cubes. In a frying pan over medium heat, cook for about 10 minutes, until it is to your liking. Do not add oil, as these ingredients already release enough fat for cooking.
- In a bowl, put one egg and the yolk of the other (the other white is reserved to paint the dough when it comes out of the oven). Add the cream, salt and pepper to taste and mix. Add the bacon once cooked and the cheese, mix well.
- When the dough is ready, as soon as you take it out of the oven, remove the vegetables and paint it with the egg white that we had reserved. Fill with the mixture of eggs and bacon and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until you see that the dough is golden brown around the edges. Then our quiche is ready.
Different Varieties and Versions
This recipe is essentially a savory pie, which means we can make it with as many ingredients as we want. Always keeping in mind that the recipe consists of a shortcrust pastry base with a filling made of cream and beaten eggs. From there, we can add as many ingredients as we like.
Or, if you want to innovate on the classic Quiche Lorraine with bacon, we have many options as well. For example, you can add spinach, mushrooms, minced meat… or any other ingredient that comes to mind to the basic recipe.
History of Quiche Lorraine
Quiche Lorraine originates from the region of Lorraine in northwestern France. The word “quiche” comes from “Küchen” in the Lorraine dialect, which means pie. And this is the original recipe from which all other versions of this dish derive.
The first time this word was used to refer to this preparation was in 1605. At that time, the dish was only made with cream and eggs. It wasn’t until the 19th century that bacon started to be included in the recipe, thus giving birth to the Quiche Lorraine we know today.
As you can see, quiche is perfect for dinner or lunch. It’s also a great option for a casual appetizer. You can prepare it in a single mold. You can find removable ones or glass ones that are oven-safe, so you can serve them directly and they look great.
But you can also make them in individual molds and create small quiches for each guest. This option is perfect as a starter or for a simple dinner, accompanied by a salad. And don’t forget that in cooking, everything is imagination. Try changing the bacon for diced ham and adding some cherry tomatoes to the dough before baking. It will turn out spectacular!
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