The big key here is mastering the pie dough. If the first one doesn’t come out perfect, keep trying! Once you get comfortable making pie crust, the sky’s the limit! You can make quiche, pies (pot pies, fruit pies, cream pies, etc), tarts, galettes, hand pies and more!
If you don’t have time (or are scared!) to make your own pie crust, don’t worry about it! There are good options at the grocery store that will be perfectly fine for your quiche needs. (If you make the filling, you can still call it homemade!) And… don’t be scared. It’s only pie crust!
Pie Dough:
2½ C All Purpose Flour
1 teas Salt
1 teas Sugar
1 C Cold Butter (2 sticks – refrigerate but don’t freeze) (You can use lard, or Crisco, or a combo, but make sure it’s cold!)
6 Tbsp Cold Water (you may need a little more)
1 Tbsp Vinegar or Fresh Lemon Juice
- Place flour, salt and sugar in a bowl and toss lightly to mix.
- Cut your cold butter into ½” cubes and add to flour.
- Using your hands, a fork or a pastry cutter, gently work the butter into the flour until it loosely resembles couscous. (If you “run warm” don’t use your hands. You want to keep the butter cold.)
- Add vinegar (or lemon juice) to water and then pour into flour/butter mixture.
- Using your hands or a wooden spoon, mix together very gently until you form a ball. Avoid overmixing – as soon as all the flour and water are mixed, stop!
- Wrap dough in plastic wrap and place in fridge while you make the custard filling.
Quiche Filling
Prepare before you start the pie dough:
½# Bacon (cooked to your liking)
½ Medium Onion, diced small and sauteed lightly in bacon grease or butter
Also have on hand:
4 oz Swiss Cheese, grated (or other cheese of your choice)
¼ C Fresh Parsley, chopped
For the Custard:
1½ C Half & Half (or milk, or cream or a combination)
3 Eggs
½ teas Salt
½ teas Pepper
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce or Worcestershire Sauce
Whisk together well to make sure eggs are well incorporated.
Prepare the Quiche:
- Take dough from fridge and roll out into a large circle, about 3” in diameter larger than your pie dish. (If it has been in the fridge for a while, you may have to let it soften up a little.) You can sprinkle flour on the counter and on the dough to keep it from sticking, but be careful not to add too much!
- Carefully place your circle of dough on your dish and gently press into all the “corners”. You should have an overlap of 2”-3”. You can trim this so it’s even all the way around.
- Fold the extra dough around the top so you have a thick edge to work with. (Don’t worry if it’s a bit uneven or cracking, it’ll be fine!)
- Using your fingers, crimp the edge. (Again, don’t worry too much what it looks like – it’s going to taste great!)
- Place a bit of the cheese in the bottom of the dish, then spread the onion and bacon evenly over it.
- Add the rest of the cheese.
- Pour the custard into the dish, making sure to cover all the filling.
- Sprinkle the top with the fresh parsley.
- Bake at 425F for about 15 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350F and bake for another 30 minutes. (Keep an eye on the crust. If it looks like it’s getting too brown, cover it with a pie shield or a ring of foil.)
- Jiggle the quiche gently to check for doneness. If it seems really liquidy, cook for another 10 minutes or so, again keeping an eye on the crust.
Let cool at least 10 minutes to set up before cutting and eating.
VARIATIONS
Change up your fillings! Try some sauteed asparagus, artichoke hearts, crab or lobster meat, tomatoes, fresh herbs, sausage – the options are infinite! (Hint: cook your fillings first!)
Change up your cheese! Try cheddar, monterrey Jack, chevre, fontina, smoked gouda and many, many more cheeses!
For Dairy Free Folks
Make your dough using lard or Crisco – make sure it’s cold! Because these fats are softer than cold butter, be really gentle while mixing, and don’t let it warm up!
Use dairy-free cheese, something that melts well.
For the Custard:
6 Eggs
¾ C Unsweetened Soy or Almond Milk
3 Tbs Flour
½ teas Baking Powder
1 Tbs Soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce
½ teas Salt
½ teas Pepper
Whisk together really well. (If you mix the flour with the eggs BEFORE adding the other ingredients, you shouldn’t have flour clumps in your mixture.)
Bake as directed above.