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Annie Bell showed Jane Garvey how to Cook the Perfect... Quiche Lorraine, with a recipe from her new book 'Gorgeous Suppers’.

Quiche Lorraine

Quiche is a traditional dish that's perfect for a summer or winter menu.  Some listeners have pointed out that a true Quiche Lorraine does not contain cheese (see Elizabeth David 'French Provincial Cooking'). But Elizabeth David does admit to a 'time-honoured' version containing cheese!

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Tips and techniques - for the filling

1. Use a good quality dried cured streaky bacon, smoked or unsmoked, and dice it yourself. Annie thinks many of the lardons on sale are not up to scratch.
2. As the cut of bacon has plenty of fat, there's no need to use oil in the frying pan when you're frying.
3. Make sure you separate out the bacon bits when you put them in the frying pan so they brown properly and evenly.
4. Make sure you use a deep tin - at least 4 cm deep - so you can include plenty of filling, and there's room for it to rise a little.
5. It's cooked when it's golden and puffed up, just slightly wobbly.

Ingredients

• 1 x 23 x 5cm pre-cooked tart case (recipe and method below)
• 250g rindless smoked streaky bacon, cut into 1cm dice
• 175g grated Gruyère
• 300ml whipping cream
• 150ml milk
• 3 medium eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon grainy mustard
• freshly ground black pepper

Serves 6

Preparation method

Preheat the oven to 180C fan/200C/gas mark 6.

Place the bacon in a large frying pan, separating out the pieces. Cook over a very low heat until the fat begins to render, then turn the heat up to medium and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until it begins to colour and crisp. Scatter the bacon over the base of the tart case.

Whisk together all the remaining ingredients, putting half the cheese to one side. There's enough salt in the bacon and cheese to season the tart, and there shouldn't be any need to add extra to the custard mixture, simply some pepper.

Pour the custard into the tart case, scatter the reserved cheese over the surface and bake for 35 minutes, or until golden and puffy. Leave the tart to stand for 10 minutes. The quiche is most delicious hot, but also good at room temperature.

Tips and techniques - for the pastry

1. The right amount of water is crucial when you're making pastry. Not much more than a tsp but it makes all the difference to how the dough comes together, and later rolls out.
2. Make sure you rest your pastry - overnight is ideal, or for at least 1 hour.
3. If you have put your pastry in the fridge, make sure you bring it back to room temperature before you try rolling it out.
4. If you put the pastry in the tin and it tears, you can patch it up as nobody will see your patches once the filling has been added. And you can patch the case again with any leftover dough if the sides have shrunk more than they should after the first baking.

Shortcrust pastry for a 23cm tart tin

• 225g plain flour
• a pinch of sea salt
• 150g unsalted butter, chilled and diced
• 1 medium egg, separated

Preparation method

Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor, add the butter and reduce to a fine crumb-like consistency. Incorporate the egg yolk, and then, with the motor running, trickle in just enough cold water for the dough to cling together in lumps. Transfer the pastry to a large bowl and bring it together into a ball, using your hands.

Wrap the pastry in cling film and chill for at least 1 hour. It will keep well in the fridge for up to a couple of days.

Preheat the oven to 180C fan/200C/gas mark 6. Knead the pastry until it is pliable. Thinly roll it out on a lightly floured surface and carefully lift it into a 23cm tart tin with a removable base; it is quite durable and shouldn't tear or collapse.

Press it into the corners of the tin and run a rolling pin over the top to trim the edges. Reserve the trimmings to patch the case after it is baked. Prick the base with a fork and line it with a sheet of foil, tucking it over the top to secure the pastry sides to the tin. Now weight it with baking beans - dried pulses will do nicely.

Bake the case for 15 minutes, then remove the foil and baking beans. If any of the sides have shrunk more than they should, use a little of the reserved pastry to patch them, as the tart can only be filled as far as the lowest point of the sides.

Brush the base and sides of the case with the reserved egg white, then bake it for another 10 minutes until lightly coloured. This glaze helps to seal the pastry and prevent the custard from soaking in.

Tart tins

Given that pastry sometimes shrinks, it is a good idea to start off with a tart tin about 5cm deep. Failing that, you could forgo the crimped edges and use a cake tin with a removable collar - you can always trim the sides after cooking if they seem too deep. But I'd avoid china quiche dishes, as they are rarely deep enough and make it difficult to serve the quiche without breaking it.

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