Quiche and salad can be the dull option but home made quiche Lorraine, the eggy, creamy filling seasoned with salty bacon in decent pastry, is food of the gods. This version cheats with thinly rolled puff pastry, adding chives but not cheese with the bacon. Try it Burgundy-style, with an oak leaf and frisee salad with creamy Dijon-thickened vinaigrette with finely diced shallots.
Serves 4
Prep: 25 min
Cook: 35 min
knob of butter
flour for dusting
150g puff pastry
200g smoked streaky bacon
3 whole eggs
4 yolks
500ml crème fraiche or double cream
1 tbsp finely snipped chives
Heat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6. Place a baking sheet in too. Smear butter over the base and sides of a 20 x 4 cm deep flan tin with a removable base. Dust with flour and shake out excess. Roll the pastry approximately 26cm square. Line the tin with pastry, trimming to leave a 1cm overhang. Slice the bacon into lardons. Fry in 1 tsp sunflower oil until crisp. Tip onto a double fold of kitchen paper to drain and cool. Spread across the pastry base. Whisk the whole eggs and yolks, stir in the cream and chives. Pour into the pastry case, going right up to the top. Carefully place on the baking sheet and immediately reduce the heat to 180C/gas mark 4. Bake for 30-40 minutes until just-set and golden. Trim the overhang, lift onto a can of beans (or similar) to remove the collar, slide onto a plate and serve hot, warm or cold.