Hi Everyone, Since we’ve been baking sweet cookies for the past two weeks, I thought that it is time that we add something savoury to the table. An open pie. A quiche.
In its simplest form, a quiche is a baked piecrust filled with a savoury custard made up of milk and or cream, eggs,
cheese and bacon. The more popular quiche Lorraine originated in the rural Lorraine region of France. The original quiche Lorraine was made with a combination of milk and cream along with, eggs and bacon or lardons (cubed or chunks of bacon); the addition of cheese came later. And what a welcome addition it has been! The adding of cheese to this pie is totally worth the extra lap around the park and the mile on the treadmill.
One of the many things that I like about quiche is that one can buck tradition and add a variety to things to the basic filling. Vegetables such as spinach (callaloo), sweet peppers, carrots, broccoli, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms and asparagus can be gently sautéed and added as part of the filling. The flavour profile and texture of the quiche can be enhanced or be determined by the cheese – aged Cheddar, Gruyère, Parmesan, smoked Gouda, Havarti, goat’s cheese or mozzarella. Other meat options can be salmon, smoked fish, and yes, even shrimp! The use of fresh herbs like thyme, tarragon, oregano and marjoram livens up a pie. I truly love the versatility of the addition of ingredients to this pie.
Here’s another plus for quiche. You can make it for both meat lovers and vegetarians. No need to make something altogether different for your lacto-ovo vegetarian family, friends or guests, just leave out the bacon, fish or shrimp and bump up the veggies!
A quiche is very easy to make and if you’re not into making your own piecrust, a good-quality store-bought piecrust will do the job. However, I urge you to resist, just this one time, at least make the crust yourself the first time and then if you think it’s too much work, well by all means head to the freezer section of your supermarket.
Piecrust
There are a few things to point out about the piecrust when it comes to making a quiche.
● Pastry shrinks when cooked and that is because of the moisture in the dough, not just from the water added but also from the butter, and eggs, if used to make the dough. The shrinkage is not some thing that can be avoided. However, to minimise shrinkage, when you lay the pastry in the pan, let the pastry hang over the edges of the pan and trim the edges of the pie when it is done cooking but still warm.
● “Blind baking” is a technique employed when making certain pies. To ‘blind bake’ a piecrust is to cook the pastry shell without the filling to produce a partially or fully cooked crust. The reason for ‘blind baking’ is to prevent the crust from becoming soggy from wet-custard-based fillings. You will have to ‘blind bake’ the piecrust to make quiche.
● The use of a tart pan is great for making a quiche; it gives that extra look with its fluted edge. Spring-form pans are ideal too and allow of heavier fillings and thicker pies. Both types of pan – tart and spring-form – provide for easy removal of the pie once cooked.
Serving
Quiche can be served on its own with a hot or cold beverage. I particularly enjoy it with a glass of cold crisp white wine. I find it a perfect counter balance to the richness of the quiche.
A salad of mixed lettuce or greens with a vinaigrette brings balance to the palette. Of course you can just enjoy your slice or two of quiche as is.
Try the recipe and play around with the filling.
Cynthia
