Ingredients
- 1 flaky pastry dough disk (see recipe below), at cool room temperature
- 8 bacon slices, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Gruyère or Swiss cheese
- 4 eggs
- 1 3/4 cups half-and-half or milk
- 1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp. salt
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat an oven to 425°F.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough disk into a 12-inch round. Fold the dough round in half and transfer to a 9-inch pie dish. Unfold the round and ease it into the dish, patting it firmly into the bottom and up the sides. Trim the edges to form a 1-inch overhang. Fold the overhang under itself and pinch to create a high edge on the rim of the dish. Using a fork, prick the bottom of the dough a few times. Freeze for 5 minutes.
Bake the pastry shell until lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F.
In a saucepan over medium heat, fry the bacon until crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
Sprinkle half of the cheese evenly over the partially baked pastry shell. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until blended. Whisk in the half-and-half, nutmeg and salt. Stir in the bacon and the remaining cheese. Pour the egg mixture into the pastry shell.
Bake until the filling is set and slightly puffed and the crust is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool briefly. Cut the quiche into wedges and serve warm. Makes one 9-inch quiche.
You can substitute various vegetables for the bacon in the quiche filling, such as cooked small broccoli florets, sautéed sliced leeks or chopped cooked spinach. Use about 1 1/2 cups vegetables.
FLAKY PASTRY DOUGH
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
24 Tbs. (3 sticks) plus 3 Tbs. unsalted butter, cut into cubes
3/4 cup ice water
In a food processor, combine the flour and salt and pulse briefly to mix. Scatter the butter over the top and pulse just until the mixture forms coarse crumbs about the size of peas. Drizzle the ice water over the flour mixture and pulse just until the dough starts to come together.
Transfer the dough to a work surface, divide into 3 equal pieces and press each into a flat disk. Set 1 disk aside and wrap the remaining 2 disks in plastic wrap for future use.
The dough disks can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month. If freezing the disks, wrap in plastic wrap and place in heavy-duty sealable plastic bags; thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.