So Creamy It Melts in Your Mouth.
After making my Potatoes Au Gratin the other day, I still had a big chunk of Comté cheese left over and decided to bake a quiche. Even after eating quiche for so many years, it still feels special. A well made quiche is truly a thing of beauty. I’m referring to a quiche made in a homemade pastry shell with a creamy soft center. I had a disc of pie crust in the freezer, so it was easy to put it together. My pie crust recipe is for a double crust, so I usually have one on hand.
Bacon, yellow onion, leeks, and scallions went into this one. I happened to have a very large leek, so keep that in mind when buying your leek. You may need 2. I used some ground longpepper in this, along with a little freshly grated nutmeg.
When cooking the bacon, I like to get it only lightly crisp. If it gets fully crisp, the texture ends up being too hard in the quiche.
I happened upon what I think is the perfect custard mixture awhile ago and it’s the only one I use now – 3 eggs, 2/3 cup crème fraîche, and 2/3 cup heavy cream. When combined with 8 ounces of cheese, I think it produces the perfect creamy custard texture. Make sure you make this in either a 2 inch deep quiche pan or a deep dish pie pan. A shallow tart pan won’t hold all the filling.
When served with a simple green salad, I think it’s the perfect meal. Plus, the leftover quiche heated up perfectly at 300° for about 15 minutes, so we had 2 meals out of this and I could have easily eaten it a third time.
Bacon and 3 Onion Quiche
6
servingsOne of the creamiest quiches you'll ever taste. I added yellow onions, leeks, scallion, bacon, and Comté cheese to this and it's over the top delicious. Heavy cream, creme fraiche, and 3 eggs make for the best custard. You've gotta taste this to believe it. Trust me.
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Ingredients
Pastry for a 9 1/2 inch quiche pan (deep dish, not a shallow tart tin)
1 pound 1 bacon, diced
1 small 1 yellow onion, diced
1 large 1 leek, white part only, thinly sliced
1 1 bunch scallions, white parts sliced crosswise, dark green parts sliced lengthwise, very thinly
8 ounces 8 Comté cheese, shredded (gruyere would also work here)
3 large 3 eggs, whisked to combine
2/3 cup 2/3 crème fraîche, which is easily made by adding 2 tablespoons buttermilk to one cup heavy cream, covering lightly and letting it sit at room temperature for anywhere from 18 to 36 hours, until it thickens. Refrigerate at that point. I always make it 2 days before I need it because it varies in the amount of time it takes to properly thicken.
2/3 cup 2/3 heavy cream
Morton’s kosher salt
1/2 1/2 heaping teaspoon finely grated long pepper or black pepper
1/4 teaspoon 1/4 freshly grated nutmeg
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees with a rack in the center. Line the quiche pan with the pastry and let chill in the freezer for 20 minutes. Line the pastry with foil or parchment, add weights to come all the way up the sides of the pastry and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and bake for 10 minutes. Let cool on a rack.
- Place the long thin vertically sliced scallion greens in a bowl of ice water and place in the refrigerator to chill. They will curl as they chill.
- In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until brown and fairly crisp. Don’t overcook it. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and let drain on a paper towel lined plate.
- Remove all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat from the skillet. Add the yellow onions and a pinch of salt. Cook over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the leeks, white parts of the scallions, and another pinch of salt. Cook for about 10 minutes, until throughly softened and just beginning to brown. Set aside.
- Distribute the bacon, onion mixture and Comté - in that order - over the bottom of the pastry. Whisk together the eggs, crème fraîche, heavy cream, 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, long pepper, and nutmeg. Carefully pour it over the ingredients in the quiche shell. Bake for 35 - 40 minutes, until the center is set, but still jiggles. It will completely set as it cools. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 15 minutes. Garnish with the reserved scallion greens. This is delicious served warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!
Equipment
- 9 1/2 inch Quiche Dish or 9 inch Deep Dish Pie Pan