Cookbook:Quiche

| Cuisine of France

A quiche is a baked, unsweetened custard pie, often made with savory fillings. Originally served in Germany, quiche was adopted by neighboring France and is now considered a traditional French dish. The French (and now English) word quiche comes from a dialectal form (Küchle) of the German word for cake (Kuchen). Quiche became popular in Britain after World War II and in the United States during the 1960s and 70s.

Ingredients

 * 5 eggs
 * 1 ⅓ cup (320 ml) cream (approximately 30% fat)
 * 1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon
 * 1 dash ground nutmeg
 * ¼ teaspoon salt
 * ⅛ teaspoon ground pepper
 * 1 prepared frozen pie crust
 * ¾ cup (180 ml) freshly-grated Swiss cheese

Procedure

 * 1) Preheat oven to 375&deg;F (190&deg;C).
 * 2) Place the eggs, cream, tarragon, nutmeg, salt, and pepper in a blender; blend as briefly as possible until they form a homogeneous mixture.
 * 3) In the pie crust, create alternating layers of the shredded cheese and the mixture from the blender until the crust is full.
 * 4) Bake the quiche for 35–40 minutes; a toothpick or fork inserted into its middle should come out "clean".
 * 5) Remove the quiche from the oven, and let it cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Notes, tips, and variations

 * Use nutmeg sparingly.
 * Fresh tarragon will be better than dried tarragon.
 * Placing a very hot pan in under the quiche will give it greater volume.
 * Try making quiches with sautéed onions, sautéed broccoli, and shredded sharp cheddar cheese; feel free to experiment.

Warnings

 * The quiche mixture may drip over the edge of the pie crust while cooking; place it on a cookie sheet or place foil on the oven rack below it.
 * The quiche will continue to cook after it is removed from the oven; be careful not to overcook it or cut it before it has had a chance to set.
 * Half-and-half (cream with approximately 12% fat) can be substituted for regular cream to make this dish less fattening; however, be cautious of using milk because low-fat dairy products curdle more easily.

Livre de cuisine/Quiche lorraine