Real Men Eat Quiche--just ask Enzo!

Bacon & Cream Open-faced Tart [Quiche Lorraine]
Serves 4-6 people.

Quiche Lorraine is probably the best known French Tart.  It is a simple recipe that can be made relatively quickly, and can be served as a first or second course for a dinner party or as the main course for a casual lunch or dinner.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Use a false-bottomed springform pan for this recipe and a food processor to make the pastry dough. 

Pastry Dough [Pate Brisee]       

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
6 ounces cold butter, cut into small cubes
4 tablespoons vegetable shortening
2-4 tablespoons iced water   

Put the flour and salt in the food processor, add the butter cubes and shortening, and pulse 5 or 6 times until the mixture forms pea-sized pearls.  Slowly add the iced water and pulse again until the dough is just fully incorporated.  Do not over mix. 

Scrape the dough out onto a marble slab or counter top sprinkled with a little flour.  With the heel of your hand do the final blending, or fraisage, by pushing the dough away from you into 6 inch smears.  Collect the dough and quickly knead it, forming it into a ball, then tightly wrap it in plastic wrap and chill it for 1 hour or overnight.

Once the dough is chilled, roll it out on a floured surface by placing the rolling pin in the center of the dough and rolling away from you, turning the dough 1/4 turn after each roll.  Make sure there is enough flour under the dough to keep it moving on your work surface.  Roll dough into 1/8 inch thick circle that is about 2 inches larger in circumference than your baking pan. 

Place your rolling pin in the center of the dough circle and fold the dough in half over the rolling pin to make it easier to lift into your spring from pan.  Gently unfold the dough into your pan, lightly forming it into the pan without stretching it.  Roll the top edge over and lightly score with the back of a knife for a decorative top.  If there are any holes in the dough, be sure to fill them in with extra dough pieces so that the egg custard will not seep through the crust when cooking.

Put a buttered sheet of foil into the pan and weigh down with another pan or dry beans so that the crust will form properly.  Blind bake for 9 minutes at 400 degrees.

Egg Custard

Whip four extra-large eggs in a mixing bowl with 2 cups of half cream and half milk.  Season with kosher or sea salt, freshly ground white pepper, and freshly grated nutmeg. 

Cut 6 slices of bacon into lardons and cook until browned.  Once cooked, place on a towel to absorb the fat and then add to the custard mixture. 

Once the crust has finished blind baking, remove the foil and beans and fill the mold with the custard.  Cook in the middle rack of the oven for about 45 minutes at 400 degrees, until the custard puffs up and browns. 

Let the quiche cool for about 20 minutes, then open up springform ring and slide quiche from the false bottom onto your serving dish.