With the delicate balance of crisp pastry and soft egg filling, quiche makes a great light lunch, served hot or cold. But please, no soggy bottoms bake the pie shell blind before filling. If you have any leftover filling, pour it into buttered ramekins and cook for half the time.
Ingredients
For the Pastry Dough
- Scant 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
- 1¼ cups cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon milk
For the Egg & Bacon Filling
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 skinless chicken breast, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 thick strips Canadian bacon, finely chopped
- 1 cup shredded extra sharp strong cheddar, such as Snowdonia Cheese Black Bomber
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- ⅓ cup milk
- 2 large eggs
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 recipe quantity Celery Root Rémoulade or 1 recipe quantity Green Salad (see page 219), to serve
How to Make It
- Sift the flour into a bowl, then rub in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Make a well in the center, add 1 egg and mix everything together to a dough, adding 1 tablespoon water, if needed. Roll out on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill 10 minutes in the refrigerator.
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and stir-fry 3 to 4 minutes until cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Heat the oven to 350°F, put a cookie sheet in the oven to heat up and grease an 8-inch removable-bottomed fluted tart tin. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to ⅜-inch thick and use to line the prepared tin. Prick the base with a fork to stop the pastry from rising. Line with a double layer of plastic wrap, then fill with dry rice. Put on the hot baking sheet and bake 12 minutes, then remove the plastic wrap and rice.
- Whisk together the milk and remaining egg to make an egg wash and brush this over the crust, then return it to the oven for 10 minutes until golden. Set aside to cool, then chill 15 minutes in the refrigerator.
- To make the filling, melt the butter in a pan over medium heat, add the onion and bacon and fry 5 minutes until golden. Spoon it into the crust, top with the chicken and sprinkle with the cheese. Whisk together the cream, milk and eggs, and season with a little salt and pepper. Pour in enough mixture to fill the pastry case.
- Bake 15 to 20 minutes until the filling is golden and set. If the pastry starts to go too dark, turn the oven down to 315°F. Serve the quiche warm on its own, or with celery root rémoulade or salad.