Another classic French pastry which has been “overused” by mass production: however imaginative the filling. Any resemblance to the Quiche Lorraine is purely accidental.
Only a home cooked one, can produce that delicately wobbling, full-flavoured creamy custard.
I appreciate rough puff pastry is involved, so we can all just buy some. It would certainly make for a shorter recipe.
Perfect for a summer picnic, once we are allowed out.
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Serves 6
Ingredients
225 g plain flour
225 g very cold butter
100 ml iced water
200 g dry cure smoked streaky bacon, chopped
320 ml double cream
4 eggs and 2 egg yolks (use 1 egg white for brushing the pastry)
Method
Sift the flour and a generous pinch of salt on to a cold surface. Cut the butter into 1cm cubes and stir it in, then gently squidge the two together, so the flour combines with the lumps of butter – the aim is not to mix it completely, so it turns into crumbs, but to have small lumps of butter coated with flour .
Sprinkle a little of the water over the top and stir it into the dough. Add enough water to bring it into a dough without overworking the mixture, then cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Lightly flour a work surface and shape the dough into a rectangle. Roll it out until 3 times its original length.
Fold the top third back into the centre, then bring the bottom third up to meet it, so your dough has three layers. Give the dough a quarter turn and roll out again until three times the length, fold again as before, and chill it for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180C and put a baking tray in to warm. Grease a deep (at least 3cm) 20cm tin, and line it with the pastry, leaving an extra few centimetres overhang to minimize shrinkage. Line with foil (shiny side down) and weight down with baking beans or rice. Place on the baking tray and blind bake in the oven for 40 minutes.
Remove the foil and beans and bake for a further 8 minutes, then brush the base with egg white and put back into the oven for 5 minutes.
Fry the bacon for 8–10 minutes, until cooked through, but not crisp. Drain and spread half over the hot base.
Put the cream and the eggs and yolks into a large bowl (or a food mixer if you have one) with a generous pinch of salt, and beat together slowly until combined, then give it a fast whisk for 30 seconds until frothy.
Pour over the base to fill and then sprinkle over the rest of the bacon. Bake for 20 minutes and then keep an eye on it – it’s done when it’s puffed up, but still wobbly at the centre.
Allow to cool slightly before serving.
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