Classic Quiche

Quiche is such a versatile dish!  It can be a satisfying breakfast.  Combined with a mixed green salad it becomes an elegant lunch or dinner.  Quiche screams sophistication and shows you put in that little extra effort.  It can be made entirely in advance and is a great addition to your freezer in preparation for unexpected company.  Best of all, you can put whatever you want in it- including the vegetables, meat, or cheese that have almost reached their expiration date in the fridge.

Like most things in the kitchen, there are a few tricks to ensure that your quiche is perfection and not a soggy mess.  Firstly, you really should blind bake the crust.  What is blind baking?  Pre-baking the crust before filling it with your custard.  After you roll out your pie dough and place it in the pie plate, line the dough with parchment paper and fill it with pie weights or some dried beans you keep in a jar for just this purpose (I think they work better than actual pie weights and they are dirt cheap). Bake the quiche in a 350 F oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the dough is starting to brown, dry and set.  Remove the pie shell from the oven, remove the pie weights and let it cool.

Is blind baking absolutely necessary?  It ensures that the bottom crust does not get soggy and that the crust and custard are cooked at the same time.  But if you are in a time pinch or really don’t care, go ahead and skip this step.

Quiche is essentially a type of custard, like pudding.  And the enemy of custard is water.  You therefore need to avoid those ingredients that emit a lot of water when cooked.  This includes uncooked onions, tomatoes or mushrooms.  If you want to include these in your quiche you need to pre-cook them until they have emitted all of their moisture and start caramelizing.  If you are using frozen vegetables like spinach, you need to wring the spinach out to ensure all of the excess moisture is gone.  In a rush?  Choose other ingredients.

A proper quiche custard is 1 part eggs to every 2 parts dairy, or 2 eggs for every 1 cup of dairy.  I like to use half cream and half milk for a more luscious custard.  I also like to increase the proportion of egg yolks to eggs, as I think produces creamier results.  Feel free to use 3 whole eggs instead of 2 yolks and 2 eggs, if you don’t want the waste.

In case you have forgotten- it’s Mother’s Day this weekend.  If you want to really impress the mom in your life, make her this quiche for Sunday brunch.  It uses in-season asparagus, Gruyere cheese, and caramelized onions.  Or use whatever contents are left over in your fridge; you really can’t go wrong.

Classic Quiche

1 recipe all-butter pie crust
2 large egg yolks
2 large eggs
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup whole milk
4 oz cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
salt and pepper

Add-ins (see below)

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Roll out your pie dough to and fit it into the pie plate.  Line the dough with parchment paper and fill it with pie weights (or dry beans you keep for this purpose), making sure the weights come up at least 3/4 of the way up the crust.   Bake the pie crust for 20-30 minutes, or until the dough is starting to brown, dry and set.  Remove the pie shell from the oven, remove the pie weights and let it cool.

Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks, eggs, cream, and milk.  Stir in your cheese, add-ins, salt and pepper.

Once the crust has cooled to the touch, add the filling and return to the oven.  Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the edges are set, the middle jiggles slightly, but a knife inserted comes out fairly clean.  Allow it to cool for at least 30 minutes, and preferably overnight in the refrigerator.

Add-ins:

You can really be creative and add what you like/have in your fridge.  Here are a few suggestions:

1. Asparagus, Gruyere, and caramelized onions (in the photo);
2. Bacon, Gruyere and spinach;
3. Dill and goat cheese;
4. Chopped green onions, sweet red pepper, and crab.

The possibilities are endless!

Make Ahead Note: Quiche is best made the day before.  It can also be kept in the refrigerator for 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months, just make sure to re-heat in the oven to crisp it up.  The dough can be made up to 3 days ahead and kept in the refrigerator, or kept in the freezer for up to 3 months.