Name: Quiche Lorraine
Total time: 150 min
Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting; 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt; 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cubed and chilled; 4 tablespoons shortening; 1/2 cup ice water; 12 ounces slab bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces; 3 large eggs, beaten; 1 cup half-and-half; Kosher salt; Pepper; pinch of Nutmeg; 1 cup grated Gruyère cheese

Quiche Lorraine Recipe — Photo:
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling Debbie Wee

Active Time:

30 mins

Total Time:

2 hrs 30 mins

Yield:

8 servings

The secret to the super-silky texture of Julia Child's quiche is simple: it's the heavy cream whisked into the eggs for the filling. A flaky tart dough gives it a buttery flavor base that marries with the tender bacon egg custard. Be sure to use pie weights or baking beans when you blind-bake the crust, so it holds its shape and doesn't shrink in the oven. This quiche is perfect for breakfast and brunch, or pair it with a salad for a light lunch or dinner. Julia Child wrote about her love of quiche as a columnist for Food & Wine; here's what she had to say:

"What lovely little suppers we used to have in the sixties, when real people ate quiche. Maybe you weren’t around during its glory days or you may not remember what a quiche is; it’s all so long ago. To begin with, a quiche is an open-faced savory pie with a custard filling. The original Quiche Lorraine came to us from Alsace-Lorraine. that beautiful region of France bordering the Rhine, Germany, and Switzerland. The custard for that rich and famous mother of the quiche was simply heavy cream, eggs, and bits of bacon. Delicious!

"Although the original filling still survives, later versions substituted milk for cream, added lobster, crab, broccoli. mushrooms, spinach, and so forth. During its vogue in this country, the creative quiche was rampant, with pastry shells almost two inches deep, custard to match, and fanciful fillings very similar to what is happening with pizza and focaccia today. Quiche was everywhere, and cheap careless versions eventually ruined the appeal. The passion and the fashion dissipated.

"But what an easy, pleasant way to entertain. You’d have a guest or two for lunch and you'd serve them a quiche hot out of the oven. What a welcome when you enter a home that's filled with the warming aroma of buttery pastry baking."

Ingredients

Crust

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
4 tablespoons shortening, cubed
2/3 cup ice water, plus more as needed

Filling

3 strips bacon
3 large eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cups heavy cream or half-and-half
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1 pinch nutmeg
3/4 cup grated Gruyère cheese, divided

Directions

Make the crust

Whisk flour with salt in a medium bowl. Using your fingertips, blend in butter and shortening until they resemble small peas. Sprinkle water on top and mix until dough begins to come together; add another tablespoon or 2 of ice water as needed. Turn dough out onto a work surface and gently knead 2 or 3 times, just until it comes together. Divide dough in half and pat each half into a 1-inch-thick disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
Roll out dough on a lightly floured work surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 11-inch round about 1/8 inch thick. Ease dough into an 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Trim overhang so it is flush with rim of tart pan. Refrigerate crust until firm, about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 450°F. Line tart shell with aluminum foil and fill to top with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until crust is set, about 10 minutes. Remove foil and weights and bake shell for about 8 minutes longer, until crust is golden and crisp. Transfer crust to a rack to cool slightly, about 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F.

Make the filling

Meanwhile, cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer bacon to a paper towel–lined plate to drain. Crumble bacon into pieces.
Whisk eggs with heavy cream, salt, pepper, and nutmeg in a medium bowl until well blended. Scatter half of the cheese in an even layer on bottom of crust and top with bacon. Pour custard on top, then top with remaining cheese. Bake quiche on middle rack of oven until custard is set and quiche is nicely browned on top, about 35 minutes. Transfer quiche to a rack and let cool for 15 minutes. Unmold quiche and serve.