Classic Quiche Lorraine with Bacon & Gruyère

 

With smoky bacon, nutty Gruyère and sweet onion, Quiche Lorraine is a timeless classic. One of the most satisfying dishes imaginable, this gorgeous recipe by award-winning cookbook writer Dorie Greenspan, is a deceptively simple and delicious savoury tart from her cookbook, 'Around My French Table'. Full of entertaining stories, memories, and insider tips on French culinary customs, Greenspan shares dishes she gathered over years of living in France. As she recalls, "when lunchtime rolls around in Paris, quiche is on the menu of just about every café in town, where the type of quiche changes every day and, no matter the quiche du jour, it’s ordered by stylish, impossibly slim women and just as many hip guys. What we think of as old-fashioned, they think of as lunch, or an easy supper, or a dish for brunch or, cut into thin wedges or small squares and served at room temperature, the perfect nibble with an after-work glass of wine." Inspired by her recipe, my husband made Dorie's Quiche Lorraine for brunch this past weekend, and it was absolutely delicious — she would be proud.

Quiche Lorraine
Serves 6
Recipe courtesy of Dorie Greenspan

For the Crust:

1 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

6 tbsp very cold or frozen unsalted butter, cut into bits, plus more as needed

1 large egg

1 tsp ice water

For the Filling:

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1 small onion, peeled, trimmed and finely diced

3 slices cooked bacon, cut crosswise into thick pieces

2 oz Gruyère, very thinly sliced

2/3 cup heavy cream

2 large eggs

Salt and freshly ground white pepper

For the crust, combine the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and whir a few times to blend. Scatter the bits of butter over the flour and pulse several times, until the butter is coarsely  mixed into the flour. Beat the egg with the ice water and pour it into the bowl in three additions, whirring after each one. Don’t overdo it though, as the dough shouldn’t form a ball or ride on the blade. You'll have a moist, malleable dough that will hold together when pinched. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it into a ball and flatten it into a disk — if the dough doesn’t come together easily, push it, a few spoonfuls at a time, under the heel of your hand or knead it lightly. Chill the dough for at least 3 hours or up to 5 days.

Roll out the dough between sheets of parchment or wax paper. Lift the paper often, so that it doesn’t roll into the dough, and turn the dough over so that you’re rolling on both sides. The rolled-out dough should be about 3 inches larger than the bottom of your pan. Transfer the dough to a 9 x 9 1/2-inch tart pan, easing it into the pan without stretching it, noting that what you stretch now will shrink in the oven later. Press the dough against the bottom and up the sides of the pan. If you would like to reinforce the sides of the crust, you can fold some dough over, so that you have a double thickness around the border. Use the back of a table knife to trim the dough even with the top of the pan. Prick the base of the crust in several places with the tines of a fork. Refrigerate or freeze the dough in its pan for at least 1 hour before baking.

Preheat the oven to 400°F with the rack in centred in the oven. Press a piece of lightly buttered aluminum foil against the dough's surface and fill with dried rice or dried beans. Place the tart pan on a parchment lined baking sheet and partially bake on the middle rack for 20 minutes, then very carefully remove the foil with its weights. Return the bare crust to the oven and bake for another 3 to 5 minutes, then transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and allow the crust to come to room temperature before it's filled with the savoury custard. 

For the filling, melt the butter in a small skillet over low heat and toss in the onion. Season the onion lightly with salt and pepper and cook slowly until it is very soft, but not at all coloured, about 10 minutes, then remove from the heat. Spread the cooked onion with whatever butter remains in the pan evenly over the bottom of the crust. Alternate slices of bacon and cheese over the crust.  Beat the cream and eggs together until well blended, season with salt and pepper, and pour this mixture into the tart shell. 

Gently slide the baking sheet into the oven and bake the quiche for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the filling is uniformly puffed and browned. Transfer the quiche to a cooling rack and allow it to cool and gather itself for 5 minutes or so. Carefully remove the sides of the pan, if you’ve used a two-piece pan, and slide the quiche onto a platter. The quiche can be served hot, warm or at room temperature.

The Best Chicken Curry: Time-Life's Murgh Kari

 

One of my favourite Chicken Curry recipes, a classic Punjabi dish from Northern India — Murgh Kari — was inspired by a small spiral-bound copy of Time-Life 'Foods of the World - Cooking of India' cookbook that I permanently borrowed from my Mom's food library many years ago. A popular series of 27 cookbooks published by Time-Life from 1968 through to the early 70s, the cookbooks provided a broad survey of many of the world's major cuisines, and quite possibly lit the first spark that ignited my lifetime love affair with food history. The series combined recipes with wonderful food-themed travelogues to show the cultural context from which each recipe sprang, with each volume coming in two parts: the main book was a large-format, photograph-heavy hardcover book, while the recipes were presented in small spiral-bound booklets. Quick, easy and delicious, this Chicken Curry recipe is also light, flavourful and can be made an hour or two before dinner, then allowed to simmer on low heat until you're ready. Served with basmati rice, papadam and a few mini samosas, this Chicken Curry is one of my favourite 'go-to' recipes. Foolproof and guaranteed delicious.

Chicken Curry (Murgh Kari)

Serves 4-6

Recipe courtesy of Time-Life 'The Cooking of India'

1 1/2 lb chicken breasts, boneless and skinless

2 1/2 tsp salt

6 tbsp vegetable, or olive oil

6 oz finely chopped onion, about 3 small onions

2 1/2 tsp chopped garlic

1 1/2 tsp chopped ginger

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp ground fennel seeds

6 tbsp water

1 lb can whole tomatoes, drained and chopped

1 tbsp garam masala

3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro, plus extra for garnish

6 tbsp plain Greek yogurt

Cut up the chicken breasts into quaters, pat dry and sprinkle with salt. Heat the oil over high heat in a large skillet, until water flicked into it splutters instantly. Add the chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, until each piece is white and fairly firm. Transfer the chicken to plate. When cool enough to handle, tear up into smaller pieces. (I often use leftovers from Roast Chicken and bypass this step and go straight to sautéeing the onions and ginger-garlic etc).

Add the onions, garlic and ginger to the oil remaining in the pan and sauté for about 8-10 minutes, stirring constantly, until the onions are soft and golden brown. Reduce the heat to low, add the cumin, turmeric, ground coriander, fennel and 1 tablespoon of water, and cook for a minute or so, stirring constantly. Stir in the tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of fresh cilantro, the yogurt and the remaining teaspoon of salt.

Increase the heat to medium and add the chicken plus any juices that have accumulated on the plate. Pour in the rest of the water. Bring to a boil, turning the chicken over in the sauce to coat the pieces evenly. Sprinkle the top with garam masala and the rest of the fresh cilantro. Reduce the heat to low, cover tightly, and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the chicken is tender but not falling apart. To serve, spoon the chicken curry in a heated dish, and sprinkle with chopped cilantro over basmati rice, with crisp papadum or warm naan.