Hairy Bikers Cheese and Onion Quiche Recipe

There is already onion and 150g of cheese in their broccoli and cheese quiche from Our Family Favourites, so I left the broccoli out and pushed the onions up to three. That is the whole change, and it serves four from a 28cm tin at around 990 calories.

They are blunt about what usually goes wrong: quiche is so often as dry and stodgy as a sergeant major’s insole. Their fix is in the mixing, not the baking.

Whisk the custard as gently as you can, because the less air you beat in, the smoother it sets. If any froth appears, leave the jug standing until it has subsided before you pour.

Hairy Bikers Cheese and Onion Quiche

Author: Alex Saidani Cooking Method:Baking Cuisine:British Courses:Main

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 35 minutesCook time:1 hour 20 minutesRest time: 40 minutesTotal time:2 hours 35 minutesServings:4 servingsCalories:990 kcal Best Season:Summer

Description

The onions are softened in butter first rather than going in raw, which is my one addition to their method. Mustard is spread over the blind baked base before anything else, and half the cheese goes under the custard with the rest scattered on top. It bakes low, at 160°C.

Ingredients

For the pastry

• 250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 125g butter, chilled and diced
• 1 egg yolk
• iced water, a teaspoon at a time, usually 3 or 4

For the filling

• 25g butter
• 3 medium onions, finely sliced
• 5 eggs, lightly beaten
• 200ml double cream
• 125ml crème fraîche
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 150g cheese, Gruyère, Comté or mature Cheddar, grated
• leaves from a large tarragon sprig, finely chopped, optional
• salt and black pepper

Instructions

1. Make the pastry: Put the flour in a bowl with half a teaspoon of salt. Add the butter and rub it in until it looks like fine breadcrumbs. Mix in the egg yolk with a table knife, then add iced water a teaspoon at a time until it comes together as a dough. A food processor does the same job.
2. Line the tin: Form the pastry into a ball, roll it out on a floured surface and use it to line a 28cm round flan tin. Cut off any overhanging pastry but do not trim too closely, since it is easier after baking. Chill for at least half an hour.
3. Blind bake: Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. Line the case with parchment and baking beans and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the pastry has set and is taking on colour. Remove the parchment and beans and bake for another 5 minutes. Leave to cool and turn the oven down to 160°C, fan 140°C, gas 3.
4. Soften the onions: Melt the butter in a frying pan and cook the onions gently for 15 minutes, until soft and just golden. Leave them to cool.
5. Mix the custard: Put the eggs in a bowl with the cream and crème fraîche and season. Whisk very gently to combine, keeping as much air out as you can. If froth forms, leave the mixture to stand until it subsides.
6. Build it: Spread the mustard over the base of the pastry case. Scatter over the cooled onions and half the cheese, then the tarragon if you are using it.
7. Fill and top: Carefully pour over the egg mixture, then sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
8. Bake: Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until just set with a slight wobble.
9. Rest it: Leave to cool for a few minutes before serving. It is best eaten warm or at room temperature.

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FAQs

Why whisk the custard gently?

Because air is what makes a quiche stodgy. Their words are that the less air you get in, the smoother the set will be, and they tell you to let any froth subside before pouring.

Beaten hard, the mixture puffs in the oven and then collapses into something dense and slightly rubbery. Whisked gently, it sets smooth and stays that way.

What did I actually change?

Three things, and nothing else. Three onions instead of one, softened in butter first, and the 200g of broccoli left out.

The pastry, the five eggs to 325ml of dairy, the mustard on the base, the split cheese and the 160°C oven are all theirs exactly as printed. Their quiche lorraine is the version to make if you want one with no changes at all.

Why soften the onions?

Because raw onion does not cook through in a custard. In the original the broccoli is the main event and one small raw onion is a background note, but as the star it needs proper treatment.

Fifteen minutes in butter takes the sharpness out and brings the sweetness up. Let them cool before they go in, or they will start to set the egg on contact.

What cheese should I use?

They list Gruyère, Comté or Cheddar and all three work. For a cheese and onion quiche specifically, a mature Cheddar gives you the flavour people are actually after.

Half goes in under the custard and half on top, which is their method. The top layer browns and the bottom layer melts into the onions. Their vegetable crumble does the same trick with Cheddar in a savoury topping.

A 28cm tin for four?

That is what the book says, and it makes a generous quiche. Four large wedges rather than six polite ones, which is why the calorie count is what it is.

Cut it into six and you are at about 660 a portion, which is closer to their quiche lorraine at 850 for six from a smaller 23cm tin.