Quiche Lorraine

This mouth-watering, rich Lorraine dish is definitely one of the best known food specialities from France! The Quiche Lorraine is indeed a classic on every French Cafe's, restaurant's and Brasserie's menu today, but the authentic Quiche recipe - without cheese! - has been a precious treasure of the Eastern region for generations.

In Lorraine, the classic Quiche recipe only contains heavy cream, eggs and bacon or chopped ham, but no cheese. This mouth-watering, wintry dish is baked for 20 to 30 minutes, until the pastry crust is browning.

The authentic Quiche Lorraine actually originated from the German culture, in which the "quiche" was an egg custard pie baked in a brioche pastry - and not in the typical French pie dough. The very name of Quiche deriving from "Kuchen" (meaning "cake") in the specific half-French half-German dialect that used to be spoken in that Northern region of France. The basic ingredients of this wintry dish is symptomatic of its rural origins, and it used to be cooked in a cast-iron pan.

The authentic Quiche Lorraine is a common sight on French restaurants' menus today. Served as a starter with a nicely-dressed crisp salad, or as a brunch dish, this Eastern speciality is usually enjoyed at room temperature or little warm so the pie is still crunchy.

The most popular Quiche recipe - unduly - includes French soft cheese, either emmenthal or gruyere. But, quite easy to make, the Quiche Lorraine boasts many modern variations, from the Alsatian-style including onions to modern versions with goat cheese, salmon, leek and broccoli to quote the most common ones.

Top Tip! French cooks and Lorraine bakers recommend to prick the pie dough with a fork before pouring the egg migaine (custard), so that it does not raise.

For the custard preparation, they also suggest one egg per person, to whisk with a good amount of fresh cream, bacon cubes, very little salt, pepper, and a touch of nutmeg.

To get a consistent, moist Quiche Lorraine, the cream must largely dominate the eggs.