Happy National Quiche Lorraine Day! To mark the occasion, I have written up my personal Quiche Lorraine Recipe for you — I think you’ll really like this take on it!
Quiche Lorraine is a major French staple dish that all cooks should know how to make, because it is just so simple to get right. It is named after the Lorraine region of France which is up in the northeastern corner of the country, which is near Germany and Switzerland — which is apropos, because the dish is most commonly made with Swiss cheese.
Truly, the dish is quite simple. You have some crumbled, cooked bacon, some sauteed onion, some grated Swiss cheese, and you layer those ingredients with an eggy custard mixture in a pie shell and bake. 🥚 Honestly, you don’t need to get super-fancy with it for it to taste like a million dollars!
My take on the dish makes only a couple of very small alterations from the standard versions, which I believe make it a warmer dish with a slightly softer and more subtle flavor. First, I use shallots instead of regular white onions, and gouda cheese instead of Swiss. 🧀
I also prefer very thin and crispy bacon. The supermarket typically has some “ready-cooked” bacon, and this is so easy and less messy to fix! 🥓
Best Quiche Lorraine by Jeannette Tomanka
Ingredients
- 1 9 inch pie shell
- 6 slices crispy cooked bacon
- 1 cup grated gouda cheese
- ½ cup sliced, sauteed shallots
- 4 eggs, room temperature, beaten
- 1 ½ cups light cream, or half-and-half
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°. If using a frozen pie shell, you may want to poke it some with a fork, weigh it down with some dry beans, and cook it for 8 minutes in order to help insure that the bottom will be cooked instead of gummy. Gently wrap a strip of aluminum foil around the top edge of the pie shell that will not be submerged in the filling — this will help insure that the crust does not overcook.
- Mix the eggs, light cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg using a whisk, and set aside.
- Alternate sprinkling layers of the shallots, bacon and gouda cheese into the pie shell until it is all in there.
- Carefully and slowly pour the egg mixture over the shallots/bacon/gouda until the shell is filled.
- Place the filled pie shell into the preheated oven on a middle shelf, and allow to cook for 40 minutes. Remove the strips of aluminum foil protecting the edge of the pie shell about 5 minutes before it has finished cooking. Check to see if it is done by shaking the pie pan very gently — if the center of the pie still jiggles, leave it another 5 minutes and repeat. Once it is set, you may want to carmelize the top a little more by turning on the broiler for about 3 minutes. You will neet to watch the quiche like a hawk to make sure it does not overcook if you do this step!
