Quiche Lorraine with a No-Roll Crust

I recently purchased a tart pan to make a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, and have decided to get more use out of it. This week, I made the traditional French dish Quiche Lorraine, and boy, do I feel domestic. I don’t own a rolling pin, though, so I’m not that domestic. Instead of spending 2 hours covering every inch of myself and my kitchen in flour, I opted for the much easier no-roll press-in-the-pan dough. It’s not as lazy as the frozen variety, yet not as work-intensive as roll-out dough.

Quiche Lorraine with bacon and leeks: perfect Christmas morning breakfast!

Quiches are really difficult to mess up. Pie crust + meat/veggies + eggs + cheese/milk = quiche. Don’t even measure it out. As long as it’s cooked all the way through, it will be good. Quiche Lorraine, however, is a different story. Its characteristic creamy and fluffy texture is achieved by using very specific ratios of cream, eggs and Gruyere cheese. It’s about as French as you can get.

Ingredient list: Grated gruyere cheese, diced onions, sliced leeks, salt, flour, nutmeg, olive oil, cream, pepper, milk, bacon lardons, minced garlic and eggs. You will need a tart pan with a removable bottom, which Target sells in many different colors.

If you’ve never cleaned and sliced leeks before, watch this short tutorial. The first time I ever cooked with leeks, the finished product tasted strangely crunchy and grainy. Come to find out, that was straight up dirt because I didn’t wash my leeks properly.

To make the crust, mix together all the ingredients until a dough forms. Grease your tart pan well.

Using your fingers, spread the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan, until smooth and even.

Saute garlic, onions and leeks until translucent, about 6 minutes. Fry the bacon lardons until crisp. Lardon is just a fancy term for bacon cut up into little squares. Kitchen scissors works well for this.

To make the filling, whisk together cream, eggs, yolks, s/p and nutmeg. Add in the cheese.

Pour the veggie mixture into the tart pan, then sprinkle the bacon on top.

Lastly, pour in the filling and cheese mixture over the veggies and bacon. Throw this baby in the oven and cook for about 40 minutes. It’s done when the top is lightly browned and the middle is set (check this with a toothpick). If you’ve reached the 40 minute mark and your quiche is still a little raw in the middle, cover with foil and cook 5-10 minutes more.

Let cool for about 10 minutes, remove from the tart pan, and it’s ready to eat. If you remembered to grease the tart pan, it will pop right out. If not, good luck with that.

Quiche Lorraine with a No-Roll Crust
Serves 6, cook time 1 hour

• 1.5 cups + 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup oil
• 3 tablespoons milk

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, for sauteing
• 1/2 medium sweet onion, diced
• 2 leeks, cleaned and sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 pack bacon, diced into small lardons
• 1 1/4 cup cream
• 3 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup gruyere cheese, grated
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• s/p to taste

1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F.
2. To prepare the dough, mix the flour and salt in a medium bowl. Add in oil and milk, and mix until a dough forms.
3. Grease your tart pan. Press the dough firmly and evenly into the sides and bottom of the tart pan using your fingers.
4. Using olive oil, saute the garlic, onions and leeks over medium heat until soft and translucent; about 6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
5. In the same saute pan, fry the bacon lardons until crisp. Remove the grease with a paper towel.
6. In a medium bowl, whisk together cream, eggs and yolks. Season with s/p and nutmeg. Add grated cheese.
7. Sprinkle the veggie mix evenly into the tart pan, then add the bacon. Pour the filling mixture and cheese over the veggies and bacon.
8. Bake uncovered for 40 minutes. When the top is lightly browned and the middle is set, it’s finished. If the middle is still raw after 40 minutes, cover with foil and bake a couple minutes more, checking often.

Zut alors, c’est magnifique!