Hairy Bikers Quiche Lorraine Recipe

Hairy Bikers quiche lorraine uses 300ml of double cream and 200ml of crème fraîche with only three eggs, which is what makes it so soft. The recipe is in both British Classics and Perfect Pies, uses smoked streaky bacon and Gruyère, and serves six at about 850 calories.

They travelled to Alsace to get to the source of the quiche and baked their version there, overlooking a vineyard. Their line about it is worth repeating: this is proof that real men, women, boys and girls all eat quiche.

Fill it in two goes. Most of the egg mixture goes in at the worktop, then the tin goes into the oven and the rest is poured in on a pulled-out shelf.

Hairy Bikers Quiche Lorraine

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

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 30 minutesCook time:1 hour 25 minutesRest time: 45 minutesTotal time:2 hours 40 minutesServings:6 servingsCalories:850 kcal Best Season:Summer

Description

The pastry is blind baked twice, 25 minutes with beans and up to 10 more without. Onion and bacon are fried together and cooled before they go anywhere near the case. The oven then drops from 200°C to 170°C for the custard.

Ingredients

For the pastry

• 250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 150g cold butter, cut into cubes
• 1 large egg, beaten

For the filling

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, finely sliced
• 200g smoked streaky bacon, cut into 2cm pieces
• 300ml double cream
• 200ml crème fraîche
• 3 large eggs
• 75g Gruyère cheese, grated
• sea salt and black pepper

Instructions

1. Make the pastry: Put the flour and butter in a food processor and pulse until it looks like breadcrumbs. Add the beaten egg and mix until it just begins to come together, then shape into a ball.
2. Line the tin: Roll the pastry out on a floured surface to the thickness of a pound coin. Press it well into a 23cm loose-based tart tin, trim the excess and lightly prick the base. Chill for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6.
3. Blind bake: Lay baking paper over the pastry and fill with baking beans. Put the tin on a baking tray and bake for 25 minutes, then remove the paper and beans and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes. Turn the oven down to 170°C, fan 150°C, gas 3½.
4. Cook the filling: Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the onion and bacon together until lightly browned, stirring regularly. Tip onto a plate and leave to cool.
5. Mix the custard: Put the cream, crème fraîche and eggs in a jug and beat until well combined, then season with salt and pepper.
6. Fill the case: Spoon the bacon and onion into the pastry case and spread evenly, then scatter the Gruyère on top. Slowly pour in most of the egg mixture.
7. Top it up in the oven: Put the tin, still on its baking tray, in the oven. Pull the shelf out slightly, pour in the rest of the egg mixture, then gently push the shelf back. This is far easier than carrying a very full tin across the kitchen.
8. Bake: Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the filling is just beginning to brown and has lost its wobble. Press the back of a teaspoon on the centre and no liquid should be visible.
9. Cool it: Leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before removing. Serve warm or cold.

Keywords:hairy bikers quiche lorraine, quiche lorraine hairy bikers, hairy bikers quiche lorraine recipe, hairy bikers quiche, hairy bikers bacon and cheese quiche

FAQs

Why fill it inside the oven?

Because a 23cm tin filled to the brim will slop over the moment you lift it, and you cannot fill it properly any other way.

Filling it right to the top matters. Any gap between custard and pastry shows as an ugly rim when you cut into it, and the whole point of that awkward-sounding step is to avoid one.

Does the pastry really need blind baking twice?

Twice in the sense that it goes in with beans and then without. Twenty-five minutes with beans sets the shape, then 5 to 10 minutes uncovered dries the base out.

Skip the second stage and the custard soaks straight into raw pastry. There is a lot of liquid in this filling, half a litre of cream and crème fraîche, so the case has to be properly sealed.

Why only three eggs for all that cream?

Because they want it soft rather than firm. Three large eggs to 500ml of dairy is a low ratio, and it sets to something closer to a savoury custard than a set filling.

That is also why the oven comes down to 170°C. A hot oven would scramble it, and the test is the teaspoon rather than the clock. Their custard tart uses the same gentle approach on the sweet side.

Is there bacon in every version?

Yes, and it is what makes it quiche lorraine rather than any other quiche. Two hundred grams of smoked streaky, cut into 2cm pieces.

It is doing more than flavour, too. The bacon is fried with the onion first, and the fat it gives up is what softens the onion properly so it does not taste sharp in the finished quiche.

Warm or cold?

Either, and they say so. Fifteen minutes in the tin is not optional though, because the custard is still setting and it will crack if you turn it out hot.

Cold slices are firmer and cut more cleanly, which is why it works for picnics. Their potato salad is the obvious thing to put beside it.