French Quiche Lorraine with Shortcrust Pastry

Have you tried a proper French quiche Lorraine? Melt in the mouth buttery shortcrust pastry is baked blind, then filled with cheese and bacon and baked with a delicious egg custard.

It's perfect for lunch or dinner and eaten hot, cold or just warm, so it's perfect for having friends round too.

I'm taking you step by step on how to make homemade shortcrust pastry, including baking blind, so you will have perfectly crisp pastry that is so easy to do.

You have probably already got all of the ingredients to hand in the kitchen, so get baking now!

Bon appétit! 

Jump to:

• Why you will love this dish
• 🥘 Ingredients
• 🔪 Instructions
• 📖 Variations
• FAQs
• 💭 Top tip
• More pastry dishes
• 📋 Recipe
• 📖 Variations
• 💬 Comments

Why you will love this dish

There's nothing better than the smell of a proper French quiche Lorraine baking in the oven. I can never wait to get my hands on it!

The French don't really have pies like the British but they do have quiche! The combination of eggs and milk with tasty fillings, all encased in melt in the mouth pastry, is one of my favourite comfort foods.

It's so easy to buy a ready made quiche in the shops, but there is nothing better than the smell of cheese and pastry baking together, when you are making your own. Chances are that you already have the basic ingredients to hand, so it's easy to throw this dish together, without dashing to the shops.

For some people pastry, (also known as a pie crust), can be scary to make, and by all means please use a store bought sheet of readymade pastry if time is really short. However, once you have made the pastry, with my step by step instructions, it has so many other uses.

I've also included instructions on making baking it blind. This is essential for larger tarts, if the filling is quite liquid. There is nothing worse than soggy pastry that is not cooked properly.

And, of course, there are plenty of ideas for filling variations including vegetarian quiche.

🥘 Ingredients

For the pastry you will need plain or all purpose flour, butter and lard. If you prefer, you can use just butter. but the lard helps the pastry to be really soft and melting.

I've used milk and eggs to bind the filling together in a savoury custard, but often other recipes ask for single cream or half and half. Having lived in France, I hardly ever used cream, as it was always UHT, so  I always make it with semi-skimmed milk and it still tastes creamy. Use full fat milk or cream of you prefer.

A traditional French Quiche Lorraine uses smoked bacon lardons, but I prefer to use sliced smoked back bacon cut into small pieces as it makes the quiche easier to cut.

I've added in grated Gruyère cheese, as it has a lovely nutty taste and really adds to the creaminess of the savoury custard.

For some crunch and extra flavour, I've also used some chopped spring onions.

🔪 Instructions

For the pastry

I always make shortcrust pastry in the food processor, but if you don't have one you can use the rubbing in method.

Start by cutting very cold butter and lard into small cubes and put in a large glass bowl with the salt and flour. Gently rub the butter with the flour with your finger tips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. If you prefer you can use a fork or a pastry cutter to get the same effect.

If you have a food processor simply tip the ingredients into the bowl, attach the lid and pulse the mixture three or four times until it gets to the breadcrumb stage. Next add two tablespoons of cold water and pulse twice.

At this stage check the dough with your fingers to see if it sticks together when pressed. You might need to add another tablespoon or more depending on the atmosphere and the dryness of the flour. Add any extra water a few drops at a time. Too much water can make the pastry tough.

Turn the processor on full and within a few seconds the mixture should come together into a ball.

Form it into a flat round shape with floured hands.

You can use a loose bottomed flan dish, but I prefer to use a 22cm/8 inch, loose bottom cake tin. This gives a deeper quiche.

Lightly flour the work surface and roll out into a circle to cover the bottom and sides of the tin. Trim the edges flush with top of the tin and fork the bottom of the pastry.

Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. This helps to reduce pastry shrinkage when cooking.

How to bake blind and why

• When you have a wet filling in a large pastry case it helps to bake the pastry blind first before adding the filling. This makes sure that you get a crisp pastry base.
• Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/180FAN/Gas6. Take a square of baking parchment 30cm/12inch square and fold into quarters, then fold again through the middle. Hold the fold to the middle of the tin and trim off the outside edge of the paper. You will be left with a circle that lines the  pastry to protect it from getting burnt. Scrunch the paper up into a ball to make it easier to shape the paper to cover the pastry.
• Add some ceramic baking beans to the paper. This will stop the pastry from rising up and the paper from moving. If you don't have ceramic beans then use any dried beans or rice and keep them separate for this purpose.

• Place the tin on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Carefully peel back the paper. If the pastry is set then remove the paper and beans and return to the oven for 5 more minutes.
• Remove the pastry from the oven and reduce the heat down to 180C/350F/160FAN/Gas4 ready to cook the filling.

How to make the Quiche Lorraine filling

• Heat a frying pan over medium heat and add the bacon for a few minutes until cooked through. Drain on kitchen paper.
• Grate the cheese and slice the spring onions.
• In a large bowl whisk the eggs and milk together and season with salt and pepper.
• Scatter the bacon and cheese over the pastry base and top with the onions
• Pour over the egg mixture and sprinkle the parsley over the top.
• Bake for about 30 minutes until well risen and golden.

📖 Variations

Besides quiche Lorraine, there are lots of classic quiche variations.

• Try salmon and broccoli quiche with 100g of poached or smoked salmon, broken into pieces with 100g of chopped broccoli.
• Cooked shredded chicken with canned sweetcorn.
• Sliced softened onions with sliced tomato or softened leeks with thyme.
• For a vegetarian option try chopped peppers, broccoli, green beans, spinach or mushrooms with cheese. Lightly cook the vegetables first.
• Prawns or shrimps, crab or smoked fish also work well.
• If you want to cut the carbohydrates make a crustless quiche. Just bake the mixture in a greased deep dish.

If you can't get Gruyère cheese use mature cheddar or Emmenthal.

FAQs

💭 Top tip

Let the quiche rest for at least 5 minutes after cooking to let the filling set and the pastry crisp. This will make it easier to cut and serve.

More pastry dishes

• Salmon and Asparagus Puff Pastry Parcels
• Chicken and Leek Pie
• Tarte Flambee - easy no yeast French pizza

📋 Recipe

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