Quiche with Bacon
Episode 123: Eggs-quisite
Recipe: Quiche with Bacon
The dough for this quiche is made with butter and lard (or vegetable shortening). The result is very flaky, with the taste of the lard complementing the bacon in the filling. The dough is not precooked but is prepared in the home style, by baking it filled, as my mother and aunt used to do. The quiche may not be as elegant as one made in a precooked shell, as chefs do in fancy restaurants, but it’s faster and easier to make it this way — and it’s very good too.
Serves 6 to 8
PASTRY
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
3 tablespoons lard or vegetable shortening
1/4 cup cold water
FILLING
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
5 slices bacon, cooked in a microwave oven or skillet until crisp and broken into pieces
1 1/2 cups diced (1/2-inch) Gruyère or Emmenthal cheese (5 ounces)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
FOR THE PASTRY: Work the flour, salt, butter, and lard or shortening together in a bowl until you have a coarse mixture. Sprinkle on the water and gather the dough together into a ball.
Roll the dough out with a rolling pin into an 11- or 12-inch circle and use it to line a 9- to 10-inch tart pan or pie pan. Refrigerate until you are ready to fill the quiche shell.
FOR THE FILLING: Beat the eggs in a bowl only until well mixed. Stir in the milk, cream, salt, and white pepper.
Scatter the bacon and cheese over the dough. Place the pan on a cookie sheet and pour in the egg mixture.
Bake for 1 hour, or until the filling is set and browned on top. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly; the quiche is best after it has rested for at least 15 to 20 minutes.
Cut into slices and serve lukewarm.
Copyright © 2011 by Jacques Pépin. Used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Can i use parmesan cheese here instead of Gruyere? Thank you.
You should be able to use pretty much any cheese that you like. Gruyere, Emmenthaler, Parmesan, Pecorino, will all add nutty and cheesy character. Experiment and enjoy!
I truly enjoy M. Pepin’s show. When he says “That’s good,” it means more to me than all the shoulder-scrunching, eye-squinting, fake-smiling and hip-shaking contortions I see on the other shows.
I have made this numerous times, and have been the beneficiary
of so many kudos over the years, I stopped counting. I did however learn from a
chef in Paris years ago, to coat the dough inside with a very thin layer of Dijon before adding the ingredients, this seems to set the quiche apart in flavor from many others I’ve tasted. And like the Aunt of Monsieur Pepin, I never precook my dough!
Monsieur Pepin in my opinion, is far and away not only the most knowledgeable,
but the most practical chef I’ve ever had the honor of watching, bar none!