Quiche Two Ways
Quiche is one of my all-time favorite foods. What screams brunch more than eggs, cheese, and cream all baked together? I recently made two quiches for a “How to Make Brunch” YouTube video I did with my friend Marion Ringborg. When trying to come up with a menu, the first dish I decided to make was quiche. I just love it so much. So much, in fact, I didn’t want to just have one; no, I wanted to do two!
Base Recipe
My base recipe could not be simpler. Both the crust and the filling are done with ratios more than like recipes.
The ratio for the filling is 1 egg to 1 deciliter of cream. 1 deciliter equals about ½ US cup. In grams, it’s 50g egg to 100g of cream or 1:2. The ratio for the crust is 3:2:1. 3 parts flour, 2 parts butter, and 1 part water. Salt and pepper to taste in both, of course. To read more about my 3:2:1 pie dough recipe click here.
I mixed it up a bit in this recipe by replacing some of the all-purpose flour with rye flour. Adding in the rye gives the crust a deeper flavor and flakier texture. You could also use whole wheat flour, graham flour, einkorn, or spelt. Use whatever you have on hand or skip it and just use 100% regular flour.
Two Different Quiches
The two quiches I made in the video were Quiche Lorraine and a Green Pea Quiche. I love them both. Quiche Lorraine is one of the most classic quiches out there. It is made with ham (or bacon) and onions. I wanted to incorporate bacon into this brunch somehow without just serving it straight up.
The second quiche I made was a Green Pea Quiche. Green peas are my favorite frozen vegetable. They are so easy and cheap. You don’t even need to defrost them; you just throw them in the par-baked shell, pour the filling over, and slam it in the oven. Couldn’t be easier.
Vegetables
You could use really any vegetable for quiche. I love to use carrots, peppers, zucchini, onions, spinach, and kale. Just remember that none of the vegetables are going to cook in the filling. It never gets hot enough to cook the veg, just to get it a bit hot. So everything needs to be fully cooked and then cooled down before going in the quiche.
Par-baking and Other Quiches
It is also important to par-bake the shells. They simply won’t have enough oven time to finish baking before the filling is done.
In these versions, I made these in tart shells, and they are very thin. If you choose to make a deeper quiche, you will need more filling and a longer baking time. Check these recipes for instructions: Mushroom Quiche, Cheese Quiche, Mini Quiches.
Quiche Two Ways (Quiche Lorraine and Green Pea Quiche)
Ingredients
Pie Dough:
- 400 g flour
- 50 g rye
- 300 g butter cold
- 150 g water cold
Quiche Filling (for 2 quiches):
- 6 eggs
- 6 deciliters dL cream 600g, 3 US cups
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Green Pea Quiche:
- 2 dL Green peas 1 US cup
- 1 dL Hard Cheese grated, ½ US cup
Quiche Lorraine:
- 1 onion
- 300 g bacon or ham roughly 1 package
- 1 dL Hard Cheese grated, ½ US cup
Instructions
- Start by grating or cubing the cold butter and placing it in the fridge while you measure out the other ingredients.
- In a large bowl, mix the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, and salt together.
- Add the cold grated or cubed butter to the flour mixture and quickly combine it with your hands or a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles large beans.
- Stream in the ice-cold water while mixing the dough with your hands or a spatula. Mix until the dough comes together in a shaggy mass. Avoid over mixing or waiting for the dough to become wet or sticky.
- Form the dough into two disksl, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least one hour, or preferably overnight for the best results.
- While the dough is resting, work on the filling. Cut the ham or bacon into small pieces. If using something fatty like bacon, then you do not need to grease your skillet. Fry until crispy and the fat has rendered off. Put it to the side. Pour off the excess fat. Dice the onion. Sauté the diced onion in the leftover grease. Season with salt to taste. Continue frying until done. Set aside and let cool.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the cream and eggs. Season with salt and pepper.
- Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F).
- Roll out the chilled dough on a floured surface and carefully transfer it to a tart pan. Gently press it into the dish, trimming any excess dough. Do this with both pieces of dough.
- Par-bake the shell. Line it with foil and fill it with dry beans or pie weights. Bake for 20 minutes. Then, remove the beans and the foil, then brush the crust with beaten egg. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until the . Do this exact procedure for both shells.
- Once the shells have cooled, layer the first with cooked onions on the bottom, followed by the bacon/ham. Pour the egg and cream mixture over the filling and sprinkle the cheese on top. Into the second, fill the bottom with frozen peas, forming an even layer. Pour the base over the top and sprinkle with cheese.
- Place the quiches in the preheated oven and bake for approximately 20-30 minutes, or until the filling is set and the top is golden brown.
- Allow the quiches to cool completely before serving.
Notes
Use any hard cheese you like. My favorites for quiche are parmesan, pecorino and västerbotten.