Quiche Lorraine is one of the many savory French pies. Quiches can be made with many different fillings, but today’s recipe is a classic.
The French typically eat quiches for lunch and dinner or as appetizers, but I’ve found that Americans like to eat quiches for breakfast and brunch. It doesn’t matter when you eat it, my Quiche Lorraine recipe will taste good any time of the day. The recipe is so easy and quick to prepare that even children can whisk the eggs! Since French cuisine in general is meant to be shared in a convivial atmosphere, I think Quiche Lorraine deserves a title in the ”family cooking” category.
From the German word ”kuchen” (which means “cake”), the dish is also named after its region: La Lorraine (located in North East France, near the German border). This local recipe is quite old as it goes back to the 16th century. Originally, the pie was made with bread dough, smoked pork belly, eggs, and cream. It was only later that the dough was replaced with broken dough.
Quiche Lorraine usually is made with broken dough (the French term is Pâte brisée). I recommend that you make it from scratch, but you can also use a store-bought pie crust if you want to cut down on the prep time.
Savory pies are quite common in France, and I’ll be adding more pies like this one (and, of course, some sweet ones) here. You can use the base recipe here and modify with your own fillings. Let me know what versions you like to make!
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family does. If you cook my Quiche Lorraine pie, take a picture and tag me on Instagram so I can see your cooking! Also, please leave me a comment below and let me know what you think about the dish!
Bon appétit!
Broken Dough (Pâte Brisée): 1. Preheat the oven to 385 degrees F. Mix the flour and the salt together in a large mixing bowl. Incorporate the melted butter into the flour mixture and knead until coarse and crumbly. Add the warm milk or water and knead into a ball. 2. Spread the dough on the bottom of the pie pan evenly and stab the bottom of the crust with a fork randomly. Place a piece of parchment paper on top of the crust, fill with weighted baking beans (not baked beans!) to prevent the bottom from rising, and pre-bake the crust for 15 minutes. Remove the crust from the heat and let it cool down. Filling: 1. Sprinkle tiny shavings of butter on the bottom of the crust. In a frying pan, brown the chopped onion, the bacon and the garlic (you can ground a little bit of black pepper on top to season). While they are browning, whisk the eggs, the sour cream and the milk together in a medium bowl. 2. When the onion, bacon and garlic are browned, add them to the milk and eggs mixture. Season with a pinch of nutmeg powder, salt and pepper to taste. Pour the mixture into the pie pan. 3. Bake the pie until golden brown, about 45 minutes to an hour at 385 degrees F. To ensure your quiche is cooked all the way through, insert a knife one inch from the pastry edge. If the knife comes out clean, your quiche is done!
Ingredients
Instructions