Quiche Lorraine – Uniquely Gruyere

After you eat this Quiche Lorraine, you may never meet another that you love so well. Traditional French quiche is quite robust — a real comfort food! But those of us who lived through the 1980s and remember the book “Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche” are sadly familiar now with the “meh” quiche served across our broad American food landscape. Perhaps this watered-down, non-traditional quiche led to the disparaging 1980’s epithet “quiche eaters” that described men who lacked manly virtues… when perhaps all they lacked was Gruyere cheese!?

Why is it so hard to find good Quiche Lorraine stateside? Because many American cooks and restaurateurs do not make their quiche with Gruyere, which amounts to a tragic loss in taste. The French like to say that it should not be called a quiche unless it is made in the traditional way of Alsace or Lorraine. That always includes Gruyere and also a bread-like crust, which many no longer use in favor of a puff pastry-like crust or, in our case, a 3-2-1 crust.

I learned to make this recipe as a journeyman cook at the Henri d’Afrique restaurant in Old Town Alexandria, Va., and today it’s a Food for the Ages favorite. It’s made of a 3-2-1 crust that is impermeable to its custardy cheese filling that bakes up flaky and buttery with a deep, Gruyere-cheese based tang — just the right balance for American tastes. Perfect for brunch or as an appetizer at a party.

It’s part of our Mini Cocotte Month recipes and, if you don’t have mini cocottes, you can use a fluted French pie plate instead.

But it all starts with the cheeses… for each quiche you want to use 3 ounces of Gruyere cheese and 4 ounces of no-name Swiss. This will give you the correct levels of deliciousness and not overwhelm you with the nutty richness of the Gruyere.

Here is my video of how to make it:

Quiche Lorraine – Uniquely Gruyere

Makes 1 quiche Serves 4

• 4 ounces swiss cheese (the blander, or more boring, the better) grated
• 3 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated
• 3 whole, large eggs, beaten lightly
• 1 1/2 cups half & half
• Pinch of nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 6 rashers of bacon, cut into small pieces or “lardons”
• 2 tablespoons chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Prepare the Filling/Custard:

Combine beaten eggs, half & half, nutmeg and pepper in a medium-sized bowl. 

Cook the bacon until almost crisp then add the onion and parsley and cook another 5 minutes until golden. Drain bacon mixture in sieve and let cool. Once cooled, add to filling mixture, cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Prepare the 3-2-1 Crust:

Follow the directions for 3-2-1 crust at this link. Refrigerate the dough for at least a half hour before using.

You can prepare the filling and crust a day ahead of time. If you do this, you may have to mix a bit more half & half into the filling before baking, to loosen it  up a bit, as the cheese will have absorbed much of it overnight (which is a good thing!).

Assemble and Bake:

Preheat the oven to 395◦F.Remove crust from refrigerator and roll out dough until nearly transparent and cut to fit 4 mini cocottes or 1 pie plate. Make sure to not leave an edge on the pie crust as it will burn during cooking.

Divide the filling equally among the four mini cocottes and place in preheated oven to cook for approximately 40 minutes, or until deeply browned on top. Enjoy warm or cold with fruit garnish and a crusty piece of bread.