Resurrecting Quiche
Classic Dish is Perfect for Summer Dinner or Sunday Brunch
Quiche - the iconic dish of the '70s deserves another look. It's quick and easy and can be decadent or healthy. And you already have the perfect pie crust - allons y!
Quiche – once nothing more than a punch line to a joke about real men, deserves another chance. Savory custard filled pie is perfect for fresh asparagus in the markets now. Here, we'll explore variations and techniques through this easy and elegant dinner.
It's time to resurrect quiche. As a survivor of the 70s, I’m not one to rush quickly into this territory. Plenty to forget, and a few things to remember. Like quiche. Let's revisit the classic dish.
First: Our Crust or Case
People still thank me for the perfect pie crust recipe, and you can certainly use it here. All you need to create a perfect quiche beyond that is a few eggs and some milk or cream. We’ve come to associate quiche with cheese but the classic Lorraine has none. The simple elegance of the cream and egg custard filling is possibly even more decadent than one laden with cheese.
Making a quiche is not as difficult as you might think and it gives you the opportunity to practice a few techniques that will serve any home cook well. A couple of quiches or fruit tarts or pies and you'll be a pro by Thanksgiving!
Quiche can be made in a standard pie plate (even a frozen pie crust, truth be told). Or a tart pan. The latter elevates the dish and takes no more effort. I love the small 9" tart pans with removable base. It will serve several as a dinner or brunch dish accompanied by salad.
Filling Your Crust
Springtime vegetables, such as asparagus, make a wonderful filling. Quiche Lorraine often includes bacon, onion and cheese, though originally there was no cheese at all. Mushrooms are delicious in a quiche. Peas are popping up now at my market, they're gorgeous in a little tart with some goat cheese.
I like to caramelize onions, fry bacon and use cheese. I know, it’s a bit of fat but then, I could get hit by a bus tomorrow. A simple pleasure like this is worth the fat. It’s all about moderation. One slice with a salad is a fine light dinner.
Decadent or Light - Both are Delicious
To further lighten it up, use milk instead of cream. Bacon could certainly be omitted altogether. Quiche is a lovely way to use cheese that's a bit past its prime. You can even freeze cheese bits until your quiche day, then thaw and shred in a food processor.
Spinach, fresh or frozen, works well too. Lots of recipes seem to have sprung up with tomatoes, not a favorite of mine, but by all means, experiment away. A good rule of thumb is to consider what one likes in an omelet or a frittata. A quiche is not unlike an omelet in a tart shell.
About the Cheeses
A bit of Parmigiano-Reggiano sprinkled on top of a quiche encourages a lovely brown finish. Not to be confused with that stuff in the green can, which is one of those things from the 70s better left behind. Parmigiano-Reggiano is a versatile cheese. Shave it with a vegetable peeler to get beautiful ribbons on your salad. Save the hard rind in the freezer and then throw it in your next pasta sauce or soup pot. It comes from Parma, Italy. It's aged for years and made with both morning milk and evening milk. You’ve seen the wheels with the stenciling on the side verifying authenticity. The whey from its production is fed to the pigs that become prosciutto. Molto bene!
Gruyere (true Gruyere is worth seeking out) is produced in Switzerland’s Fribourg region which includes historical influences including Romans and Celts. True Gruyere is made into 80- 100 lb wheels from 88 gallons of milk. It is cave-aged in the Jura Mountains for at least six and up to thirty-six months. The combination of the milk and aging process gives it a salty, nutty flavor and it melts beautifully. It’s a hearty cheese you’re most used to seeing on top of your French onion soup. Yes, that’s the one.
Blind Baking
Blind baking is not like dark dining. It is the baking of a pie crust or tart shell empty. This is useful when you want to retain a crisp crust. Tarts, which often have a short baking time, also benefit from blind baking before adding the filling. One of the easiest ways to ensure the crust doesn’t puff up too much is to prick it all over with a fork. Another is to lightly place a piece of parchment paper over the crust, then fill with dried beans. The beans will become your “baking beans” and can be reused for this purpose. One can also purchase ceramic or metal pie weights but why bother when a bag of dried beans is so cheap?
- Answer to trivia question in blog post: Spanglish. Thomas Keller was consultant to that film as well as the recent: Ratatouille. Who can forget Paz Vega eating the fried egg blt Adam Sandler prepared for her in the closed kitchen of the restaurant?
