Cooking With Rania: Quiche Lorraine
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- For the month of April, Rania Harris, of Rania's Catering, is showcasing a full day of meals with a springtime theme. She's starting out with Quiche Lorraine for breakfast!
Quiche Lorraine
Ingredients:
- 1-9 inch deep-dish pie shell (partially baked – see recipe)
- Olive oil + pat of butter
- 1 large sweet onion – thinly sliced
- 12 slices of thick sliced bacon – cooked crisp – drained and chopped coarsely
- 1 cup shredded Swiss or Gruyere cheese (I prefer Gruyere)
Custard:
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups half and half
- Pinch of nutmeg
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Pre-bake the pie shell as directed in the attached recipe and cool.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Sauté the onion in a small amount of olive oil with a pat of butter until completely cooked and golden.
Place the onion, bacon and cheese in the bottom of the pie crust.
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs and add in the half and half. Whisk until well blended. Season with a pinch of nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour the custard over the quiche ingredients.
Bake the quiche in the oven for about 40 minutes or until the center is set. Transfer to a rack and cool slightly. Cut into wedges and serve.
Serves: 8
Pastry:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ sticks (10 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoons salt
- 4 tablespoons ice water (or a little more if needed)
Directions:
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, process the flour with butter and salt until a coarse meal forms. With the machine running, add ice water through the feed tube and process just until a ball of dough forms. Add a little more ice water, if the dough seems too dry.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to a 12-inch round. Fit the dough round into a 9-inch deep pie pan, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Fold the overhang under and flute the edges decoratively.
Freeze the shell for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Line the frozen shell with foil and fill the cavity with uncooked rice. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 20 minutes. Remove the foil with the rice very carefully and then continue to bake the tart shell for another few minutes or until the shell is just starting to dry slightly. Cool on rack and proceed with recipe.
Note: I keep the rice in a plastic container and use again when baking a pie shell "blind."