Fine French Cuisine - How to Make Quiche Lorraine

Quiche Lorraine is a delicious combination of eggs, cream, bacon, and cheese in a pie crust. It can be served hot or cold and quiche is very easy to make. This quiche is ideal as a party appetizer because it makes great finger food. It is also good, filling fare for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack at any time.

The History of Quiche Lorraine

A quiche is an open pie, which is believed to be French in origin but is actually German. It was first made in Lothringen, a medieval kingdom in Germany. The French later renamed the town Lorraine. The word "quiche" derives from the German word for cake.

The first versions of Quiche Lorraine contained smoked bacon but no cheese. The original recipe also had a bread dough crust, rather than the puff pastry or short crust pastry crusts we use today.

The original quiche looked far more rustic than the modern ones. It was cooked in a cast iron pan and the edges were rough, rather than crimped. This quiche is very popular today in the south of France and either Gruyere or Emmental cheese is used. In the United States, this quiche usually contains cubed bacon but no onion.

Quiche gained a following in England in the 1940s and there are lots of varieties of quiche today. Popular ingredients include seafood, ham, chicken, broccoli, zucchini, onion, bacon, and bell peppers. Quiche Lorraine is the best known variety.

Recipe for Quiche Lorraine

This is a very simple recipe to follow and you can either make your own pie crust or use a store-bought one. Feel free to use half Swiss cheese and half Gruyere if you like, or use spinach instead of the onion. This classic French dish can be served for lunch or dinner, accompanied with green beans or a crisp, fresh salad. Some baby potatoes in butter would also be good. Serve the quiche warm from the oven or chilled.

What you will need:

9 inch pie crust
1 2/3 cups light cream
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1/4 teaspoon white sugar
4 beaten eggs
12 slices bacon
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

How to make it:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Fry the bacon until it is crisp, then drain it on paper towels and coarsely chop it. Saute the onion in the bacon grease for five minutes. Sprinkle the cheese, onion, and chopped bacon into the pie crust.

Whisk the cream, eggs, salt, pepper, and sugar together, then pour this mixture into the pie crust and bake for fifteen minutes. Turn the oven down to 300 degrees F and bake the quiche for another half an hour or until a knife inserted into it comes out clean. Let the quiche cool for ten minutes, then cut it into wedges and serve.

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