Quiche Lorraine

This was a week of many firsts... I finally decided to make a quiche.
Perfect picnic food, right?

I found a James Martin recipe for quiche Lorraine on the BBC Food website. It had a rustic look about it which tempted me into making it.

Well, it did turn out to be delicious but I had a bit of a pastry disaster.

Lesson learnt: Use ready made pastry - it will just make your life much easier!

Here is a link to the recipe.

The most important thing to note is that you simply must make sure that the pastry does not have any holes or cracks or else it will leak when you pour in your egg mixture.

Here is a copy of the recipe:

For the pastry

• 175g/6oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• salt
• 75g/2¾oz butter, plus extra for greasing
• (alternatively use ready made pastry)

For the filling

• 250g/9oz English cheddar, grated
• 4 tomatoes, sliced (optional)
• 200g/7oz bacon, chopped
• 5 eggs, beaten
• 100ml/3½fl oz milk
• 200ml/7fl oz double cream
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme

Preparation method

To make the pastry, sift the flour together with a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Rub in the butter until you have a soft breadcrumb texture. Add enough cold water to make the crumb mixture come together to form a firm dough, and then rest it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Roll out the pastry on a light floured surface and line a 22cm/8½inch well-buttered flan dish. Don't cut off the edges of the pastry yet. Chill again.

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.

Remove the pastry case from the fridge and line the base of the pastry with baking parchment and then fill it with baking beans. Place on a baking tray and bake blind for 20 minutes. Remove the beans and parchment and return to the oven for another five minutes to cook the base

Reduce the temperature of the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3.

Sprinkle the cheese into the pastry base and add the sliced tomatoes if you are using them. Fry the bacon pieces until crisp and sprinkle over them over the top.

Combine the eggs with the milk and cream in a bowl and season well. Pour over the bacon and cheese. Sprinkle the thyme over the top and trim the edges of the pastry.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool and set further.

Trim the pastry edges to get a perfect edge and then serve in wedges.