Quiche Lorraine, though now traditionally French, actually originated in Germany, in the kingdom of Lothringen that later became Lorraine – the word quiche was derived from the German kuchen but it was the French that turned it into a classic, well known all over the world today. At first the quiche was only made with eggs, cream and bacon and it was only later that cheese was added to it.  Whilst the original crust was made from the dough of bread, it didn’t take too long for it to become the rich short crust we know today. Traditionally served on the 1^st of May to celebrate the beginning of spring, this is a regional dish

from Nancy in Lorraine and is made with the local bacon from the region – a speciality.

Ingredients Pastry

• 175g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 75g butter, plus extra for greasing
• Salt to taste

Filling

• 250 g good Gruyere, grated – there is no need to use a very strong cheese otherwise you won’t taste the bacon.
• 200g bacon, diced
• 5 eggs, whisked
• 300ml double cream
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Grated nutmeg

Method

• Pastry: sift the flour with a little salt in a large bowl and then rub in the butter until it becomes like soft breadcrumbs.
• Add enough ice cold water to make the crumb mixture combine to form a firm dough – allow to  rest it in the fridge for 45 minutes.
• Roll the pastry out onto a lightly floured surface and then place neatly in a 23cm greased quiche dish, allowing the edges to hang over – don’t cut them off and allow the quiche crust to rest in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 190 C.
• Remove the pastry crust from the fridge and then line the base of the pastry with baking parchment and fill it with baking beans.
• Put the quiche dish in the oven and bake blind for about 20 minutes, remove and then take out the beans and the parchment and bake for another 5 minutes to cook the base completely.
• Reduce the oven temperature of the oven to 160 C.
• Sprinkle the cheese into the pastry case, fry the bacon pieces until crisp and sprinkle them over the cheese.
• Whisk the eggs with the cream and season well, pour this over the bacon and the cheese and trim the edges of the pastry – just don’t cut them too short because it will shrink whilst baking.
• Bake until set – about half an hour to 40 minutes, then remove from the oven and allow to cool and set further.
• Trim the pastry edges to get a perfect edge and then serve warm or cool.