The Best and Basic Quiche

The name says it all. Cook this up as a special treat for Sunday brunch

Ingredients

• 6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut in 1-inch pieces
• 1 shallot, peeled and finely diced
• 1 recipe Flaky Quiche Pastry (see below), prebaked
• 1 cup grated Gruyère 4 eggs
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk
• ¾ cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325ºF.
2. In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, cook the bacon until it starts to brown. Add the shallots and cook until softened, about 5 minutes in total (if you omit the bacon, just sauté the shallots in 1 tablespoon butter). Transfer to a dinner plate lined with paper towel and pat to remove any excess fat. Spread the bacon and shallots evenly across the bottom of the prepared quiche shell. Sprinkle with the grated cheese.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and flour. Add the milk, sour cream, parsley, salt, and pepper and whisk again to combine. Pour the liquid ingredients into the shell. I like to put the quiche pan atop a cookie sheet lined with parchment, as it makes it easier to get the quiche in and out of the oven and catches any spills.
4. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the edges are set but the centre remains a little wobbly. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack. Allow the quiche to cool for at least 1 hour prior to removing from the pan and cutting.
5. Store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Serve cold or reheat in a 200ºF oven for about 20 minutes.

Makes 1 (9-inch) quiche, 6 to 8 servings

Flaky Quiche Pastry

Ingredients

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup butter, chilled and cut in 1-inch cubes
• ? cup ice water
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon water

Instructions

1. Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Pulse the machine a couple of times to combine.
2. Add the cubed chilled butter to the bowl and continue to pulse until pea-sized crumbs begin to form. This happens pretty quickly, so keep your eye on it, as you don’t want to over-incorporate the butter into the flour. The pea-sized chunks of butter will release steam when the quiche bakes, creating a lovely flaky pastry.
3. Turn the food processor on and pour the ? cup ice water through the feed tube in a steady stream. As soon as the dough starts to come together, stop the machine. Remove the dough from the bowl and shape it into a disk. Wrap the disk in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.
4. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
5. Remove the chilled disk of pastry from the refrigerator and place it on a lightly floured work surface. Use a rolling pin to roll from the centre of the dough out toward the edges, rotating the dough every few strokes to make sure it doesn’t stick to the counter. Lightly dust with more flour as needed to avoid it sticking. Continue to roll until the pastry is about ? inch thick and 11 inches in diameter. Roll a pastry docker over the rolled pastry or use a fork to create random holes across the surface. The steam needs somewhere to escape when a pastry shell is blind-baked to avoid it shrinking in the pan.
6. Carefully fold the pastry in quarters and transfer to a 9-inch quiche pan with a removable bottom. Unfold and press the pastry into place, making sure not to stretch the pastry. Run your rolling pin across the top of the pan to cut a clean edge around the top of the pastry shell.
7. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and 1 tablespoon water. Use a pastry brush to coat the inside of the pastry shell with the egg wash.
8. Bake for 15 minutes, until the pastry is beginning to turn a light golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before filling.
9. The unrolled pastry can be frozen for up to 3 months. The baked pastry shell will keep, well wrapped, in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Makes 1 (9-inch) quiche shell