Bacon & Gruyère Cheese Quiche Ingredients 
- 180g Smoked Thick Cut Bacon (Remove the rind and slice into little strips)
- 1 Chopped Onion
- 130g Grated Gruyère Cheese (You can use a strong cheddar cheese if you haven’t got Gruyère cheese)
- 180ml Fresh Double Cream
- 70ml Fresh Milk (Full fat works best)
- Ground Sea Salt (To Taste)
- Ground Black Pepper(To Taste)
- 2 Large Free Range Eggs
For The Pastry
- 175g Plain Flour
- 85g Salted Butter (Dont use margarine is horrid stuff!)
- 3 Tablespoons Cold Water
- A Pinch of Sea Salt
- 1 Medium Free Range Egg
For Gluten Free Pastry
- 225g Gluten Free Plain Flour
- 1 Medium Free Range Egg
- 1/2 Teaspoon of Xanthum Gum
- 110g Salted Butter (Cut into cubes)
- A Pinch of Gluten Free Baking Powder
- 1 Tablespoon of Cold Water
- A Pinch of Sea Salt
This ones a firm favourite of mine and in my opinion one of the most under rated food of all time. I think unfortunately, kids party’s and Iceland has ruined quiche for the masses. You’ll never see it on the menu in a restaurant or pub. If you do see it will more than likely be some awful microwaved thing that closer resembles scrambled egg on a piece of wet cardboard but I assure you a good homemade quiche is utterly divine!
The gluten free pastry uses a slightly different method so ill explain how to make that here: (Skip this section if you making ‘normal’ pastry.
- Start by putting the flour, xanthum gum, a pinch of baking power, butter and salt into a large mixing bowl. Then begin to rub the ingredients together with your fingertips until the mixture somewhat resembles bread crumbs (If your a lazy bum like me use a food processor)
- Now add the egg and the cold water then mix it well. The amount of water you add may vary so keep an eye on the texture of the pastry to make sure its not to soft or to firm.
- Once your happy your pastry is ready to roll! I advise you roll your pastry between two sheets of cling film it make it so much easier to handle as gluten free pastry an be fairly delicate. If your not going to use cling film roll it onto a lightly flour surface.
For the ‘normal’ pastry.
- Before we start the Just Roll pre-made pastry is actually really good. So you can skip this step and just use that if you want. Ill give you a guilt free pass, i think you can just about still claim your quiche to be homemade as well! But for the purists among you, start by placing the flour, butter, egg and salt into a large mixing bowl.Then begin to rub the ingredients together between your thumb and fore finger until the mixture somewhat resembles bread crumbs (If your a lazy bum like me use a food processor)
- Then add the water to bring the pastry together into a ball the pastry can no be rolled. I advise you roll your pastry between to sheet of cling film it make it so much easier to handle as gluten free pastry an be fairly delicate. If your not going to use cling film roll it onto a lightly flour surface.
Right now your well versed in the art of pastry making its time to assemble the quiche.
- Start by evenly rolling out the pastry between two sheets on cling film (Remember to remove the cling film before you put it in the oven!) or on a lightly floured surface then use the dough to line a loose bottomed fluted flan tin. (Don’t worry if you have pastry hanging over the edge of the tin you can trim that off later) Then pop it into the fridge for 30 minutes and preheat your oven to 220°C/gas mark 7.
- Now you’ll need to blind bake the pastry do this by pricking it all over using a folk, this will prevent air bubble from forming in the pastry. Then line the base and sides of the pastry case with baking parchment and fill the case with baking beans. Then place it on a baking tray and pop it in the oven for 20 minutes. After the first ten minutes take it out the oven to remove the baking beans and baking parchment. Then back in the oven for the remaining ten minutes. The pastry should be golden brown once cooked, if its still a bit pale leave it in there for a few more minutes. Once cooked trim the overhanging pastry.
- Almost there ,turn down the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Fry the bacon strips until crispy on a medium heat this will take about ten minutes. Once cooked place the bacon into the pastry case. Using the same frying pan so’s not to waste those lovely bacon juices fry the onion until golden brown this will take around 8 minutes. Then pop them into the pastry case with the bacon and top it all of with the cheese.
- Next beat the eggs, milk and cream together seasoning it with salt and pepper as you go. Now pour the beaten mixture into the pastry case with the bacon onions and cheese.
- Now place the quiche back into the oven for a further 25 to 30 minutes to cook the quiche until its just about set. Do be careful not to over cook it, the eggs pretty much turn into rubber if you do. That’s it, now dress it up with a fancy pants salad and enjoy.
Tip note: You can really put whatever you want in the quiche the recipe remains the same you may have to adjust the cooking times a little but its a pretty versatile dish in that respect.