Cheese Quiche (French Quiche au Fromage)
This is a replica of the quiches sold at the Louviers market in France. There are a couple of keys to success here — be sure to let the pastry rest, as called for in the recipe. Don't stint on freezing the pastry — cold pastry that goes into a hot oven becomes extra flaky and delicious. Be sure to fully pre-bake the pastry as well, which guarantees crisp pastry on the bottom. Finally, whole milk makes a difference here — I highly recommend it over any lower fat varieties.
Pastry:
1½ cups all-purpose flour, unbleached
1 large pinch sea salt
8 Tbsp. butter, chilled and cut in small pieces
5-6 Tbsp. water, chilled
Egg Filling:
6 large eggs
⅔ cup heavy cream or crème fraîche
1 cup milk
8 oz Gruyère, Emmenthal, or other Swiss-type cheese
¼ tsp. nutmeg, freshly ground
For the Pastry:
Place the flour and the salt in the bowl of a food processor and process to mix. Cut the butter in chunks and add it to the flour. Process it, using pulses, until the butter is incorporated into the flour and the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal. With the food processor running, add the water and process briefly, using pulses, just until the pastry beings to hold together in large clumps.
Turn the pastry out onto a floured work surface and gather it into a ball. Roll out the pastry to fit a 10½" glass or metal pie plate (not removable bottom). Crimp the edges, poke the bottom with a fork or the tip of a sharp knife, and place the pastry in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C/200°C fan, Gas Mark 7).
Line the pastry with aluminum foil and pastry weights and bake in the bottom third of the oven until the pastry is golden at the edges, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and remove the aluminum foil and pastry weights. Return the pastry to the oven to bake until the bottom is golden, an additional 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and reserve.
For the Egg Filling:
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, and the milk until thoroughly blended. Season with the salt and pepper, then add the cheese and stir until it is blended.
Turn the mixture into the pre-baked pastry and spread out the cheese evenly over the bottom of the pastry. Sprinkle the top with nutmeg if you've used a Swiss-type cheese and bake in the center of the oven until the filling is golden, puffed and is completely baked through, about 30 minutes.
To test for doneness, shake the quiche - if it is solid without a pool of uncooked filling in the center, it is done. You may also stick a sharp knife blade into the center of the filling and if it comes out clean, the quiche is baked through.
Remove the quiche from the oven and serve immediately.
Makes 6-8 servings.
Variations:
- Bacon and Cheese Quiche: To make a bacon and cheese quiche (one reader reminded me that Alsace is the home of the quiche, which to deserve its name there has bacon, not ham, in it - ham is a Normandy variation), remove the rind from 4 oz good-quality slab bacon and cut it into thick slices, then cut the slices in half, lengthwise and crosswise into ¼” thick slices. Place these in a heavy pan over medium heat and cook the bacon until it is crisp. Drain it on a paper-towel covered plate and sprinkle it over the pre-baked pastry before adding the custard.
- Onion and Cheese Quiche: Peel and halve a medium-sized yellow onion. Cut it in quarters then slice the onion paper-thin. Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in the bottom of a heavy skillet over medium heat, add the onions and stir, season lightly with salt, cover and cook until the onions are very tender and translucent and just slightly browned at the edges, 10-15 minutes. Remove them from the heat and spread over the pre-baked pastry before adding the custard.