Deep-Dish Quiche Lorraine with Homemade Pastry

Method

1. Put the flour and salt in a bowl, add the cold butter and rub it in with your fingertips until it looks like coarse sand with a few pea-sized pieces of butter left; those make the pastry flaky. Add the ice water, stir with a spatula, then press into one lump with your hands without kneading. Flatten into a 2 cm thick disc, wrap and leave to rest in the fridge.

   Add in this stepAll-purpose flour (plain flour) 100 gSalt (for the pastry) 1 pinchCold unsalted butter (for the pastry, in 1 cm cubes) 50 gIce-cold water 30 ml

2. Preheat the oven to 190°C for 15 min. Carry on with the next step while it heats.

   oven

3. Butter the inside of a 14 cm pastry ring, 4 cm tall (or a springform tin), and set it on a lined baking tray. Roll the pastry on a floured surface to 3 mm thick and 10 cm wider than the ring. Ease it into the ring and press it well into the corners, leaving about 1 cm hanging over the edge. Prick the base and freeze for 20 min until firm.

   Add in this stepButter (for the ring) 5 g

4. Line the frozen pastry with baking paper and fill it to the top of the ring with dried beans. Bake in the oven for 20 min. Remove the paper and beans. Lightly beat the whole eggs for the custard and brush 1 tbsp of them thinly over the base and sides. Bake for another 8 min, until the base is deep golden and shiny-dry. This egg seal stops the custard soaking in.

   Add in this stepWhole eggs 1

   oven

5. Cut the bacon into 1 × 1 × 3 cm batons. Blanch them in a small pan of boiling water over high heat for 1 min, then drain and pat very dry; this tames the salt and the harsh smoke. Fry in a dry 20 cm pan over medium heat for 5 min, until golden outside but still tender inside, and drain on paper towel.

   Add in this stepSmoked slab bacon 100 g

   high heat→medium heat

6. Add the yolks and crème fraîche to the remaining beaten eggs and stir until smooth, then add the cream, milk, freshly grated nutmeg, white pepper and salt. Strain through a fine sieve to remove any egg strands and froth.

   Add in this stepEgg yolks 1Crème fraîche (or sour cream) 50 gHeavy cream (double cream) 180 mlWhole milk 80 mlWhole nutmeg (freshly grated) 1 pinchWhite pepper 1 pinchSalt (for the custard) 1 pinch

7. Turn the oven down to 150°C. Scatter the bacon in the shell, set the tray on the oven rack, pull the rack halfway out and fill the shell with custard right to the brim, then slide it gently back in. Bake for 40 min, until the edges are set and a 4 to 5 cm circle in the centre still jiggles like jelly. With a thermometer, aim for about 80°C in the centre.

   oven

8. Cool on a wire rack for at least 25 min so the custard sets completely. Slice off the overhanging pastry with a bread knife held flat, lift off the ring and cut with a knife dipped in hot water. Serve warm.