ROOTS & WINGS

20. ROOT: Quiche Lorraine

This is a real "root" as I've eaten this dish since I... can think – and so since my parents and I moved to the border region between Freiburg / Black Forest on the German side and Alsace on the French side because of my dad's work. (Before we'd lived in my birth town Cologne.)

One spit over the Rhein, and you're in Alsace. Okay, their "root" dish is the Flammkuchen (which we ate/made amply, too), but Alsace borders Lorraine, and so you reliably got both in cozy togetherness in the French supermarkets just beyond the border. (Talk about buying original.)

Also here, in Luxembourg, it's a real favorite because... yup, Lorraine's just south of the border. I have it with borders, eh?

Actually, the Quiche is a pretty simple dish... but: what makes it tricky is the shortcrust – of course I'm doing it myself! (You got any idea what's in pre-made (palm fat?)) – my Endgegner in the kitchen. And which is the reason I haven't done it yet.

Well, guess that's not a thing anymore now, eh?

In case you've had "Quiche Lorraine" already: well, my American and Canadian friends (SORRY, Canada, for naming you in one breath with...), you gotta be VERY strong now.


First: NO CHEESE (neither real one nor industrial). – Yup, in the Original Quiche Lorraine there's no cheese.


Second: if it's as big as a PIZZA it's NO Quiche Lorraine. – The Original is only 18 cm / 7 in in size.


Third: NO bacon(at least not that you serve with breakfast!). – It's only the Original when it's with LEAN smoked bacon, means: MORE meat than fat + rind.


Okay, now that we've cleared things, let's move on to the social part of the day / evening.


Hope you're still with me as the result is .




Serves: 2 as a Main course; 4 as a starter

Prep Time: about 3 hrs including fridge time for the dough

Degree of Difficulty: easier than I feared (shortcrust!)




WE NEED


150 gr / 5.25 oz. flour
salt
black pepper
3 eggs
75 gr / 2.75 oz. butter
150 gr / 5.25 oz. LEAN smoked bacon See
125 gr / 4.5 oz. Crème Fraîche FULL fat
1 pinch nutmeg


18 cm / 7 in quiche dish / springform



WE DO

1. Sieve the flour into a bowl and make a hollow in the middle into which you crack 1 egg, add the diced butter, and last, a pinch of salt. Knead together and shape into a ball. Press flat and shape into a ball once more before wrapping it into clingfilm and refrigerating it for 1.5 - 2 hours.

The former probably to "elasticize" the dough before you work it into the shortcrust later – but that's just a guess. It wasn't explained in the recipe The "flexible fridge time" because my dough was rock hard and needed almost half an hour to "thaw up" enough to be "workable", which quite delayed things... scheiße when you're hungry.


2. Cut rind + gristle from the bacon and cut it small I did both dice + slice. GENTLY/LIGHTLY brown it in a pan. Guys, I mean it – NO coal bits! During this step, which takes about 20 minutes, take the dough out of the fridge.


3. Preheat the oven to 210°C / 410°F and put a bit of butter into the pan which you let melt for about 2-3 minutes in the oven. Then grease the pan.


4. Roll out the dough about 3-4 mm / 1/8-1/6 in thick and line the pan with the dough, gently pressing it to the pan's rim. Cut off excess dough, BUT! – not too much! The dough shrinks during baking! Prick the dough with a fork several times and bake for 10 minutes. Prick decently – I thought I did but the dough rose, nevertheless – which it shouldn't. See why

5. Beat the remaining eggs and stir in the Crème Fraîche. Season the mix with pepper + nutmeg. Barely salt as the bacon's salty enough already


6. Remove the dough from the oven and evenly distribute the bacon bits in the shortcrust. Pour the egg-cream-mix on top. Since unfortunately the shortcrust shell did rise, see , some filling remained. I used it to top fried potatoes this noon... bloody BEST I've ever had.

7. Bake for 20-25 minutes. I did the 25 minutes in the recipe and the Quiche almost burned! So watch it the last 5 minutes, or so – you want it to be golden-brown


8. Serve hot!



Guten Hunger & Bon Appetit!