This quiche was inspired by Julia Child’s cookbook: Mastering the Art of French Cooking, BUT I used my tried and true pie crust recipe instead of her pastry recipe (mainly because it was a bit confusing and I didn’t want to mess it up). I also changed the quiche recipe and added some things. So, I cannot take full credit for this recipe, but, trust me, it’s good.
What you’ll need:
For the pie crust:
- 8” tart pan
- 1 1/4 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 8 Tablespoons butter cold cut into small cubes
- 1/4 cup ice water
For the quiche:
- 6-8 slices of bacon
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup of chopped spinach
- 1 cup of a good melting cheese. I used queso chihuahua but you could use mozerella or any good melting cheese.
- Pinch of pepper
- Pinch of nutmeg
- 2 Tablespoons of butter cut into small cubes
Directions:
First, make your pie crust. The easiest way is a food processor. Put the flour and salt in the food processor. Give it a few pulses to mix. Pulse and add the cold butter. Pulse until the dough has small pea sized pieces. Now, pulse and slowly drizzle the water in. You may not need all of the water. The dough should be the consistency of play dough, not too wet and not too dry.
Form into a ball and place on a floured surface. Press the dough down with the palm of your hand to form a flat, smooth disk. Wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
HINT: I always make two pie crusts when I do this and freeze one! That way, next time, no waiting on the dough. Just set on a counter to defrost until it is pliable.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
For the crust, roll out until it’s about 1/8” thick and is wider in diameter than your tart pan. Make sure you have enough to go up the sides of your tart pan. Roll it onto your rolling pin and then unroll it onto your tart pan. Press into the tart pan and up the sides. Trim excess by rolling your rolling pin over the tart pan. Place thin tin foil inside your tart and fill with beans. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes. Remove foil and beans, pierce the bottom of the pastry with a fork. Bake for an additional 3 minutes. The pastry should start to shrink and move from the sides of the tart pan. Take it out and prepare your quiche.
It’s a good idea to pre bake your pie crust like this so that the pastry does not become soggy or is still raw when your quiche contents are cooked. This helps your crust hold up to the liquid in the quiche and gives you a fully cooked, flaky crust.
For the quiche:
Preheat oven to 375
Fry the bacon, drain and pat excess oil. Cut into small rectangles. Place in a circular pattern on the crust of your quiche.
Next, mix remaining ingredients, except for the butter, in a small bowl.
Pour the mixed ingredients into the quiche on top of the bacon layer and top with the cubed butter. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes.
Let cool then remove from the tart pan by pushing up on the bottom and sliding onto a cake stand or platter.