Recipe: Quiche Lorraine for beginners

I started cooking at the tender age of ... 28!  I had just got my first proper kitchen, so obviously I wanted to try and learn all there was in this exciting world. The days of internet recipes were not yet that advanced, so it would have to a proper cooking book that would have to guide me in this journey.  The plethora of cookbooks,  however, required some knowledge of basic equipments, measurement techniques, differences between various ingredients... In short, not for me - I needed a cookbook that would take me by the hand and make sure I did not get lost.  This book for me was The Student Crumb Cookbook (out of print, I'm afraid) that introduced me to the new world of cooking:  since then, I've cooked most of its recipes over and over again, but one will always remain my first ever success:  the Quiche Lorraine.

  

Quiche lorraine

  

One of the more known picnic dishes, the Quiche Lorraine is as versatile as it is forgiving:  it is a simple combination of lardons, eggs and cream and off we go:

cutting up mini quiche-lorraines

1 pack (230g) shortcrust pastry

200ml extra light cream

4 eggs

250g lardons

50g grated cheese (I used emmenthal)

Preheat oven at 200oC.  I believe that the lardons are already extremely fat, and for that I brown them over medium heat, so that I need not use any additional oil.  Leave to cool.  In the meantime, beat eggs and cream (if I am preparing this for myself, I actually use half skimmed milk and half cream), salt and pepper.  Slide pastry over a round pie shell.  Scatter lardons at base (I don't pour the oil from the lardons, otherwise the quiche gets too heavy).  Carefully pour the egg/cream mixture, and bake for about  25 minutes.  Five minutes before the end, sprinkle the cheese on top.  Cut up in nice, little squares and make a lot of people happy!!!





This post is my entry into Weekend Cooking, a weekly event hosted by Beth Fish Reads.