three cheeses are better than one in this awesome quiche
In 1982, yes I’m Dating myself, I had heard of a funny book that started a craze in America called Real Men Don’t eat Quiche. It was a tongue and cheek book about in the new “feminist” times men should cook and serve quiche to their female partners. It was on the bestseller list for 55 weeks. I remember reading it and thinking “But, I like quiche” It actually started me baking quiche for my friends and family quite a lot for the next decade or so. It was a popular dish for lunches and definitely brunch all through the 80s and 90s. It has fallen out of favor a bit lately but I still love it.
Quiche can be made with all kinds of things in the filling of spinach and broccoli to shrimp, sausage, and mushrooms. But my favorite is back to the classic of bacon and onion. Originally in the middle ages, quiche didn’t even have cheese. Though nowadays most often than not it has cheese. Even though everyone thinks of quiche is French it seems to have origins in Germany and England, even Italy has had a version since the 1400s. All of them started as an egg custard in bread dough. The French perfected it using a short or piecrust.
The secret to a good quiche starts with a crisp and flaky crust. The recipe I have added here is adapted for one I found that uses bread flour, which sounds weird. But the protein in the bread flour is more consistent and easily controllable. The protein in all-purpose flour can vary greatly. The secret is to chill the dough for several hours and not to work the dough too hard. If you don’t have any bread flour you can easily substitute all-purpose flour. This crust turned out so buttery and flakey it was fantastic! I encourage you to try it with bread flour.
The directions here seem long, but I have tried to explain each step. It really doesn’t take much work, it is more in the timing and the chilling of the pie crust. The dough can easily be made the day before. The filling is very quick and easy. You could substitute a, dare I say premade pie crust, but believe me the homemade crust is well worth it. The cheese I used can be interchanged for any cheese you desire, I found the smoked gouda added a awesome smoky flavor. Let me know what you have added to quiche in the comments below.
an awesome quiche of 3 cheeses toasted onion and bacon
- 6 slices smoky bacon
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped, about 1 cup
- 4 oz goat cheese, crumbled
- 4 oz Smoked Gouda, grated
- 4 oz Gruyere, grated, or any swiss cheese
- 8 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
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Prepare the Pie crust and let chill for several hours, if possible.
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Roll out the pie crust and fit it into a deep dish fluted quiche with removable bottom or a tart or pie pan 2 inches or deeper. You may need to press the pastry into the flutes. You can leave the edges overhang if you desire and trim after it has baked or trim ahead of time. You can also use a 9-inch springform pan.
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Let chill for 1 hour.
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While the crust is chilling, cook the bacon in a large skillet big enough to not crowd the bacon slices.
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Cook until the bacon starts to crisp but is not burned, turning as necessary.
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Save about 1 tablespoon of the bacon drippings and discard the remaining fat or use for some other purpose such as sautéing green beans or cooking fried eggs.
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Drain the crisp bacon onto paper towels and put aside.
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Sauté the chopped onion in the reserved bacon drippings until it begins to brown on the edges and it is very soft.
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Let cool until room temperature.
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Preheat the oven to 375°.
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Once the crust has chilled for one hour, line the chilled pastry with foil or parchment paper and place some pie weights, or dried beans into the foil.
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Bake the pastry for 20 minutes.
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Remove the beans and foil and bake for an additional 5 to 8 minutes until the pastry just begins to brown.
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While the pastry is baking crack the eggs into a medium bowl and add the milk, cream, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Beat very well or use an immersion blender. Set aside.
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When the pastry has baked, let it cool briefly. Reduce the oven to 325°.
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Chop or crumble the bacon and add to the onion, mix in the cheese. Evenly sprinkle the cheese and bacon mixture into the cooled piecrust.
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Pour the egg mixture over the cheese and bacon mixture, filling it as much as possible. It filled up to the top of my tart pan.
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Carefully transfer to the preheated oven.
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Bake for 60 minutes or until it is golden brown and the center is cooked through. To test if it is done you can insert a knife into the filling and if it comes out clean it is done or you can use an instant read thermometer it should read 172°.
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Let cool on a rack for 30 minutes or more.
a short crust pie dough for a 9 inch deep dish pie or quiche
- 1 2/3 cups bread flour
- 14 tablespoons unsalted butter, 2 tablespoons less than 2 sticks
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup ice water, very cold
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Place the flour, butter, and salt into a medium mixing bowl and chill for 30 minutes or more.
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Using a pastry blender cut the butter into the flour and salt. Try not to overwork the mixture you still want to have small pieces of butter no bigger than a pea.
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Sprinkle in all of the water and fluff with a fork.
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Continue to work the dough until it roughly comes together, try not to overwork the dough.
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Turn out onto a clean work surface and very gently knead it into a ball making sure it is evenly moistened, but barely.
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Flatten into a disk, wrap with plastic wrap and chill for several hours. I have had success chilling for only an hour, but it is better to chill for 3-4 or even overnight.
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Roll out to fit a 9-inch pie or quiche pan. And chill for one more hour before either blind baking or filling.Roll out to fit a 9-inch pie or quiche pan. And chill for one more hour before either blind baking or filling.
