From Jim Traveler, who complained of pasty
flat Quiche in the Forum, a forward from his cohort: "ChefAl confused his computer with a toaster
oven and fried its insides. He can receive but not send. He asked me
to let you know he is not ignoring your mail but is unable to reply.
Perhaps he will be back in business soon. Meanwhile,
see his recipe."
Quiche Lorraine
Ingredients for 4 to 6 people :
Filling :
7 oz diced bacon
6 ea eggs
4 ea egg whites
7 fl oz cream
4 oz semi soft cheese [gruyere]
1 ea tomato
1 1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard salt, black pepper
& grated
nutmeg
This recipe comes from Lorraine, east part of France. Originally the quiches were small, individual and tart-like.
If you chose to make your own pastry :
In an electric mixer, put the flour and the
salt ; turn mixer on and add the butter cut in small cubes while mixing for another 15 seconds ; still mixing, add the first 3 spoons of water and then one by one slowly until the dough becomes a ball.
Stop adding water right away (the ball must not stick). Leave the paste in a salad bowl for at least 30 minutes (with a bit of flour on bottom).
Make the Quiche :
1-Pre-heat oven 375 F ; butter the pie dish - I use a spring-form pan [9 inch]; cut the tomato into thin slices.
2- Spread the pastry in the pie dish(es) with your fingers (using flour to help
- push dough from middle to sides of dishes). Let the pastry stand a bit higher than the dish edge.
3- Bake the pastry for 5 to 10 minutes; take them out before they shrink.
4- Fry the bacon in a pan, stirring occasionally, until it gets brown and crisp.
5- In the meantime, beat the eggs with a fork in a bowl and add the cream and
seasoning. Whip the whites [soft peaks] and fold into the yolk mixture.
6- Drain the bacon and add to the beaten eggs; mix.
7- To assemble the dish, brush the base with the Dijon mustard, cover with sliced cheese, then with sliced
tomatoes; pour the eggs mixture on top.
8- Bake for 20-30 minutes.
Serve warm in the individual pie dishes, ideally with a salad.
TRICK : you can chose to buy the crust or a puff pastry. Your quiche will become much easier and quicker to make, while
remaining a very good recipe...
Note from Bess: I don't see much
leeway in reducing the calories and cholesterol in this recipe without ruining
the flavor. Some ideas:
Instead of butter for the pastry, use a
non-hydrogenated margarine such as Smart Balance, and make your crust as
thin as possible.
Use half and half instead of cream
Use reduced fat cheese - this is REALLY
going to change the flavor and not for the better
Sauté the bacon in olive oil and drain
well; this will slightly reduce the cholesterol.
Instead of whole eggs, substitute perhaps
4 eggs plus 4 egg whites; again this will affect the rich flavor.
Better yet, use a specially produced egg
such as Eggland's Best, from chickens fed a special vegetarian diet with
added flaxseed. The eggs are lower cholesterol, and more important,
high in Omega 3.
