“Quiche, which originated in Lorraine, took its name from the German word Kuchen, which means ‘little cake.’ Quiches can be loosely defined as unsweetened custards with various fillings. In some areas of Lorraine, any dish containing custard (eggs and cream), onion, and/or cheese is called a quiche.”
So why Quiche Lorraine for my Eat Your Fridge Week Challenge? Frozen egg yolks! Yup, I had heard you could freeze your egg yolks and/or whites so every time I made my low fat dill and onion bread I had three egg yolks and nothing to do with them. I put them in my freezer hoping one day I would come up with a way to use them. Hence, Quiche Lorraine.
For this recipe I took a lot of ideas from The Professional Pastry Chef but made it my own, which was a challenge considering the recipes are for making four batches of quiche at the same time! You start of making the pie dough. I used 178 grams of bread flour. According to Culinary Arts at About.com one cup of bread flour will weigh around 140 grams so I guess I used 1 1/4 cups of flour. It is best to weigh it if possible. To the flour I added 1/2 tsp of salt and then mixed in 1/2 cup of cold butter and 35 grams of shortening, it looked like 1/3 of a cup. I used a pastry cutter to break down the butter and mix in the shortening until they were a little pieces. Then I added ice water a tbsp at a time until the dough came together:
You can tell it is ready to come together when there is no leftover loose flour anywhere. Remember, do not over mix/combine. You want these big chunks to stay big chunks. That is what makes the dough so light and flaky.
You can see the chunks of butter in the disc, that is exactly what you want. You want to cover with plastic wrap, shape into a disc and chill for at least an hour. At least! Quiche Lorraine take a little time because of the crust but the rest of the process is super easy. Of course you could skip this step by getting a frozen crust but it will not be the same as homemade.
As the hour goes by you can go ahead and fry up 9 slices of bacon. Once cooled, crumble and set aside.
The recipe calls for 200 grams of Gruyere cheese (around a cup and a half) and if I had used it I would not be saving money by eating my fridge so instead I used this aged cheddar I already had!
Roll out the dough so that it is wider than your dish, I used an 11″ tart pan I had. Yay! That’s the first time I ever used it, so cool. Put the dough on top, fit it to the sides and then either trim the edges or use your rolling pin to cut off the excess dough. I have always wanted to do that!
Dock the dough with a fork so it does not puff up too much while it bakes in the oven. Let the crust rest in the oven for 30 minutes.
Put the bacon and cheese on the bottom. To make the custard combine 1 cup of heavy cream with 1/2 cup of light cream. Add a tiny bit of salt (I would omit it because this bacon, even though it was salt-reduced, was still super salty), pepper, a little big of freshly ground nutmeg and six egg yolks. This is where I ran into a snag. My egg yolks would not break down, they remained little globules. I was running out of daylight so I just used the custard as is but if I ever do this again with frozen egg yolks I will put the custard in a blender and then put it through a fine sieve.
Bake on the bottom rack at 375F for 30 minutes and serve warm.
It is not as pretty as it could have been had I used regular egg yolks but that was not my challenge! I managed to make a fantastic-tasting dinner for only a couple of bucks. Even with the frozen egg yolk issue, this still turned out fantastic. Do not be afraid to experiment! Even when things do not turn out perfectly, they usually end up tasty and may save you some money.
So far, I am loving eating my fridge!
Your quiche looks like major yum!
I read this whole thing because the frozen yolk thing was so fascinating. I’m not a cook or a person interested in recipes but this was a great post, SuzIe. I felt like you were telling me the story of what happened and showing me pictures. Loved it this morning! Great job, O
I love making quiche! When my kids were growing up, I made it often, ‘spinach’ quiche using freshly gathered nettles (even better!) & mushroom quiche with fresh chantrelles . . . this makes me hungry 🙂 & used Finish Lappi, our favorite cheese!
Haven’t made any for awhile, & the two things my daughter tested ‘allergic’ to were egg YOLKS & Peanuts!! & now I’d do a gluten free crust (that part’s easy 🙂
Hey, I made quiche today in class! It was so easy, which I was surprised by. And it looked wicked yummy. I’m probably going to end up makeing one at home sometime.
My only issue- I HATE making pie crust. My mom usually uses the store bought crusts, but I’d love to find a recipe I enjoy making.
this is a totally random comment, but it’s been a few years since I’ve been to hali and i crave hamachi house…please tell me you eat there and tell me it’s as good as i remember. torturing myself is one of the things i do best!
p.s. i’ll be adding your blog to my blog roll, love a fellow canadian foodie!
Hey! I used to work with big blocks of frozen egg yolks when I worked in a bakery, so I know they work! I so love Quiche Lorraine…:)
Thanks for stopping by ReTorte. I always love to hear from new people and I love it when I find new Canadian food blogs!
I have family in NS. I’ve been there to visit & it’s a beautiful province!
Very well done post! Loved the quiche.
I love this challenge, Suzie, and now I have to start freezing my egg yolks!
Doesn’t it feel so good to make something delicious from a frig cleanup? Its just so satisfying. It feels way better than throwing out rotted food anyways!
Awww, I love it. What a great way to clean up the fridge…gruyere cheese and bacon, what a perfect combo for anything!
Oh my gosh! This looks so amazing! Making it tomorrow, maybe adding in some spinach or broccoli!
Mmmm, that looks wonderful! I agree with Kelly, spinach or broccoli would be a terrific addition!
Thanks for sharing!
~ingrid