Quiche Lorraine

Ingredients

• 13 1/4 ozshortcrust pastry, one sheet, or a block rolled out
• 7 ozdiced bacon
• 4eggs
• 7/8 cupheavy cream
• 3/8 cupwhole milk
• 3 1/2 ozgruyere cheese, grated
• 1/2 tspsea salt
• 1/4 tspblack pepper, freshly ground
• 1 pinchground nutmeg

Method

1. 1

   Heat the oven to 375°F. Line a 23 cm tart pan with the shortcrust pastry, pressing it well into the corners and leaving the overhang alone for now. Chill it in the freezer for fifteen minutes — cold pastry shrinks far less.

2. 2

   Line the chilled pastry with parchment and fill it with pie weights or dried rice. Bake for 15 minutes, lift out the paper and beans, and bake for another 8 to 10 minutes until the base looks dry and sandy rather than shiny.

3. 3

   While the pastry bakes, fry the diced bacon in a dry pan over medium heat until the fat has rendered and the edges are brown, about six minutes. Lift them onto paper towels and leave the fat behind.

4. 4

   Whisk the eggs, the heavy cream and the milk together with the salt, black pepper and nutmeg. Whisk to combine, not to aerate — bubbles set into a foamy texture nobody wants.

5. 5

   Turn the oven down to 340°F. Scatter the bacon and most of the grated gruyere over the hot pastry case, pour the custard in to just below the rim, and scatter the rest of the cheese on top. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

6. 6

   It is done when the edge is set and the middle still has a slight wobble — it carries on cooking out of the oven. Trim the pastry overhang flush with a knife and let it rest for at least fifteen minutes before cutting.