Growing up, a simple quiche was another decadent staple our family had the pleasure of enjoying on a regular basis. It wasn’t without controversy however as according to my father, “real men don’t eat quiche”. Rest assured, that didn’t last long as not even he could resist the charm of such a heart warming and sumptuous savoury tart!
Of course, it’s always preferable to make your own pâte brisée, but unlike in Canada, pastry dough is readily available in Berlin and frankly, I can’t be bothered to make my own most days. What’s more, you can literally chuck the entire contents of your fridge in it and it’ll still taste great!
Base Ingredients
The base is pretty boring and simply but, if you want to jazz it up a bit, I would suggest adding some nutmeg to the egg mixture to add a little warmth. I also would be partial to add some whole grain mustard to the base, but apparently not everyone likes mustard so better double check with your guests.
- 4 large eggs
- 50 ml of milk (or cream)
- 1 sheet of pastry dough
- A pinch of nutmeg
- 2-4 tsps of whole grain mustard
-
Salt and pepper to taste
Filling
The beauty of the quiche, much like pizza, is that you can top it with pretty much anything. Here, I’ve gone for our fam’s classic combination of:
- 100g of bacon
- 120g of cubed gruyère
- 120g of chopped celery
- A handfull of chopped spring onions
On days where we’re not feeling the bacon, we go for goat cheese, spinach, pesto and sun dried tomato or leek, mushroom and a sprinkling of feta.
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 250C
- Roll out your pastry dough onto a 30cm tart pan. Depending on the size of your dough, you can fold over the excess as I’ve done, or for a clean edge, you can cut off the excess.
- Afterwards, you’ll want to take out a fork and gently stab the dough before blind baking it for 10 to 14 minutes. This will prevent it from bubbling.
- In a bowl, beat your eggs, milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg until the mixture is nice and frothy. You can take this time to also prep the rest of your toppings.
- Once the crust has taken on the slightest bit of colour, take it out of the oven. This is your chance to paint the bottom of the crust with mustard, or pesto before pouring over the egg mixture.
- When it comes to the toppings, I like to sprinkle them over evenly. This simple quiche isn’t super deep so be careful of not to overflow it!
- Once you’re happy with it, slide the quiche back into the oven until the egg is fully set and the crust is golden brown (approx. 20 minutes).
- Serve warm with a salad and Jacques’ your tonton! Bon appétit !
