A quiche is always handy for a meal away from home – such as a picnic or to take on holiday. Quiche Lorraine is the traditional combination of cheese, egg and bacon, here in small 2-portion foil dishes.
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Quiches in foil dishes make ideal travelling food. Once you’ve eaten the contents you can bin the dish (for re-cycling of course) or take it home to use again.
Quiche Lorraine – a French classic
This is an easy version of the traditional French dish, but it contains all the main ingredients: bacon, eggs and cheese in a pastry case.
Bacon
You could use streaky bacon here, preferably smoked, and I have successfully done that but for this version I’ve used lardons – easy to find in most supermarkets.
What are lardons?
Really, lardons are just a thick piece of bacon (a slab not a rasher) cut into small cubes or matchsticks. The exact dimensions vary, and I don’t do it myself so I go with whatever the butcher/supermarket/meat box offers.
Cheese
I’m pretty sure the French don’t use extra-mature Cheddar, but it’s what I use as a default for cooking. Use whatever you have, but a nice strong flavour helps. In case you’re wondering, Gruyère is probably more authentic.
Pastry
Pâte Brisée or Shortcrust?
Although I wouldn’t dream of making puff pastry, I do make the pastry for quiches. The recipe I use is for Pâte Brisée which is like shortcrust but with an egg yolk added, which improves the texture and flavour. Using ready-made shortcrust pastry is perfectly fine if you prefer.
Don’t roll the pastry!
My pastry recipe is quick and easy – whizzed up in a food processor, and either way, you don’t roll the pastry. I always press it into the flan dish – you have to be a bit careful not to completely distort the foil dish, but you can always push it back into shape!
What else do you need to make Quiche Lorraine?
- Splash screen – Reduces fat splashes when you’re frying the lardons or bacon.
- Microplane Spice Mill – I’m a big fan of freshly grated nutmeg and I use a lot of it, especially in quiches. I recently upgraded to a Microplane mill. What a difference it makes – quick and easy to grate as much as you want!
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Quiche Lorraine - picnic size
Ingredients
For the pastry case:
- 1 recipe Pâte Brisée OR
- 250 g ready-made shortcrust pastry
For the Quiche Lorraine filling:
- 200 g strong Cheddar cheese
- 2.5 ml oil ½ teaspoon
- 200 g smoked lardons or streaky bacon
- Salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- Grated nutmeg
- 3 large eggs
- 250 ml milk
- 10 ml cornflour/cornstarch 2 teaspoons
- 2.5 ml mustard powder ½ teaspoon OR
- 5 ml English mustard 1 teaspoon
Equipment
Instructions
Preparation:
- Set the oven to 220°C/ 200°C fan/ gas mark 7/ 425°F
- Grate the cheese.
For the pastry case:
- Press the pastry into the flan dishes with your fingers
- Blind-cook the pastry cases for 7 minutes, i.e. put a piece of baking parchment on the pastry and cover with baking beans (to stop the pastry rising)
- Remove the baking parchment and beans and cook the pastry cases for a further 6-7 minutes.
For the Quiche Lorraine:
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan on MEDIUM-HIGH heat
- Add the lardons to the pan and cook for 2 minutes, turning frequently
- Turn the heat to LOW and cook until the fat is golden brown and beginning to crisp. (About 5 minutes for lardons, maybe less for bacon.)
- Sprinkle a third of the cheese evenly over the base of each quiche
- Spoon the lardons evenly over the cheese
- Season with a little salt and plenty of pepper
- Grate some nutmeg over the lardons (or sprinkle 2-3ml if pre-grated)
- Blend the eggs, milk, cornflour, and mustard in a processor or with a mixer and pour over the filling
- Sprinkle the rest of the cheese evenly over the quiches
- Bake the quiches for 20 minutes, then turn the oven down to190°C/ 170°C fan/ gas mark 5/ 375°F until golden brown on top.
Notes
Everyday Cooks Tips:
Make ahead:- You can make and cook the pastry cases ahead of time. Wrap in clingfilm and keep in the fridge for up to 2 days or in the freezer for a month
- The completed quiche can be frozen for up to a month.
Made this recipe or got a question? Let me know!