 This cheese quiche, with its red and green accents, is pretty for the holidays—or the other 11 months of the year.
November 2007
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Cheese Quiche Recipe
A Quiche With A Fall & Holiday Filling
Take a look at the inside of this lovely quiche. The bright red and green remind one of leaves of fall, or the red and green colors of the holiday season. Quiche can be served at brunch, lunch or dinner, and mini-quiches can be served as cocktail hors d’oeuvres. Recipes can be varied easily to make them vegetarian, to include shrimp—whatever the occasion calls for.
This recipe was originally titled “Cheese Flan.” The words quiche and flan can be used interchangeably. Flan, the Spanish word for a type of custard, is used by the British to describe a sweet or savory custard tart (and other types of custard dishes); whereas quiche is the French word for a savory custard tart. (See our Custard Glossary for the many different kinds of custard dishes.)
The word quiche evolved from the German word Küchen, cake. The dish originated in Alsace-Lorraine (hence, Quiche Lorraine, a specific recipe that uses heavy cream and bacon—no cheese). Alsace-Lorraine, now a region of northeastern France, borders on Germany and over the centuries was variously in German control. According to food historians, when the quiche—now considered a quintessential French dish—was developed, the region was a German province called Lothringen. It’s easy to remember the three points of similarity/difference between quiche and flan:
- Similar: Both have a custard base and are baked in a buttery pâté brisée (also known as a short paste or shortcrust pastry), a proportion of five parts flour to four parts butter. Sweet flans are baked in a sweet pâté brisée, or pâté brisée sucrée.
- Different: Flans can be sweet as well as savory (berries in a custard base, for example); while quiche is always savory.
Whether quiche or flan, cream and eggs are needed to make the custard, and a pastry shell is required. Then, any variety of ingredients may be added—Gruyère (a specific type of Swiss cheese), Roquefort or Camembert cheeses; Niçoise (tomato, anchovy and olives); Fruits de Mer (crab, lobster and/or shrimp); meats including bacon, ham and sausage; and vegetables such as endive, leeks, onions, mushrooms and spinach. As with pizza toppings, one can create the quiche or flan of one’s dreams.
In France, quiche is served for luncheon or a light supper, along with a salad, bread and white wine. Or, it can be the first course for a more elaborate dinner.
Ideally, this recipe should be made in a fluted flan ring (with a false bottom) to create the beautiful crust in the photo; but it can be made in standard eight-inch pie pan.
Cheese Quiche Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 3½ tablespoons sliced green onion (cut green tops into rectangles
1/4" to 1/2")
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
- 2 tablespoons white wine
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup whipping cream
- Pinch of nutmeg
- 6½ ounces Cheddar cheese, grated (substitute Gruyère if you
prefer a milder cheese flavor)
- 2/3 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 3 ounces roast ham, cut into 1/2" cubes
For The Pastry
- 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pea-size bits
- 3 tablespoons chilled vegetable shortening
- 5 tablespoons cold water
- Flour for dusting
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Heat the butter in a pan, add the onion and green onion; soften. Add the wine and season a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Beat the eggs, cream, nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Mix in half the cheese, the tomatoes and the ham.
- Sift together the flour and salt into a bowl, then place the fats in the center of the flour, cut into small cubes and rub into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
- Add the cold water, mix lightly to form a dough and place the mixture in a plastic bag in the refrigerator to rest for about 15 minutes. The dough will keep for 4 days, or can be frozen.
- Roll out the pastry on a floured board or marbled surface, and use to line a 8" flan pan. Roll as quickly as possible so that it does not soften. Lightly flour the top of the tough to roll without cracking, into a circle 1/8" thick and 2" wider than the pie pan or flan ring. (There will be extra dough left over to provide a range of comfort. You can freeze this for hors d’oeuvres, or roll it with extra cheese to make cheese sticks.) If you are using a plain (non-fluted) flan ring or pie plate, press a decorate edge around the rim with the dull edge of a knife.
- Prick the bottom of the pastry with a fork at 1/2-inch intervals. To keep the sides of the pastry shell from collapsing, line the inside of the shell with buttered aluminum foil, press it firmly against the sides of the pastry and fill it with baking stones or dried beans. Place in the center of the pre-heated oven. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes until the pastry is set; remove the oil and beans, prick the bottom of the pastry with a fork to keep it from rising, and return to the oven for another 2 to 3 minutes. Remove and cool.
- Once the pastry shell has cooled, carefully ladle in the filling, sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese, return to the middle shelf of the oven on a baking sheet and bake for a 25 to 30 minutes, until browned. Serves 4 as a main course, or more as a first course.
Recipe and photo © Copyright Umami Information Bureau, UmamiInfo.com. Other material © Copyright 2005-
2008 Lifestyle Direct, Inc. All rights reserved. Images are the copyright of their respective owners.
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