Best Ever Quiche Lorraine

A crowd-pleasing recipe for any day of the year!

20 minutes prep, 35 minutes cook

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 quantity of Savoury Shortcrust Pastry (see page 212 or use ready-made pastry)

A little plain flour, for dusting

For the filling:

1 tbsp olive oil

125g smoked bacon lardons

1 medium onion, roughly chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

3 medium eggs

250ml double cream

125g Gruyère cheese, grated

50g thinly sliced pancetta

Method

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the chilled pastry to about 3mm thick and line your tart tin with it, making sure the edge of the pastry stands just a little proud above the rim. Trim the edges, then prick the base with a fork and return it to the fridge for a further 30 minutes. Don’t be tempted to skip this step – it will help prevent any shrinkage in the oven.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. When hot, add the bacon lardons and fry for 3 minutes or so. Add the onion and cook for another 3 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes or until the onion is soft and the bacon has begun to crisp up. Set aside to cool slightly.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas mark 6 and put a baking sheet in to heat up. Remove the pastry case from the fridge, line with non-stick baking paper and fill with baking beans (see page 210). Bake in the oven on the hot baking sheet for 20 minutes, then remove the paper and beans and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes. This will allow the base to dry out before you pile in the filling.

Reduce the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas mark 4. Crack the eggs into a large bowl, add the cream and grated cheese and beat gently until you have a lovely creamy mixture. Season with cracked black pepper and carefully with salt – remember that the bacon and cheese are already quite salty.

6 Sprinkle the bacon and onion mixture into the base of the pastry case (along with any lovely juices left in the pan), then gently pour over the eggy mixture. Carefully transfer to the hot baking sheet in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the mixture has only just begun to set.

Remove from the oven and, working quickly, top with the pancetta slices. Return the quiche to the oven and increase the temperature to 190°C/fan 170°C/gas mark 5. Bake for another 15 minutes or until the pancetta has just begun to turn crispy. Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.