The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (253 page)

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

There’s nothing wrong with classic quiche, but sometimes we crave a thick-crusted quiche brimming with a luxuriously creamy custard with a healthy dose of perfectly suspended fillings. Rather than using a pie plate or tart pan, we turned to a cake pan, lined with a foil sling to help lift the pastry, to accommodate the extra filling. We draped a generous amount of dough up and over the sides of the pan to anchor the crust in place. A simple egg-white wash helped seal any would-be cracks. For a delicate custard with just the right ratio of eggs to liquid, we used whole eggs, plus the extra yolk from the egg wash, and equal amounts whole milk and heavy cream. To add the fillings without affecting our perfect custard, we whisked a little cornstarch into the dairy. This kept the custard glossy and rich from one edge of the pastry to the other, even when packed with the classic quiche Lorraine trio of bacon, onion, and shredded Gruyère.

SERVES 8 TO 10

To prevent the crust from sagging during blind baking, make sure it overhangs the pan’s edge and use plenty of pie weights (3 to 4 cups). Be sure to use a cake pan with at least 2-inch-tall straight sides. To reheat the whole quiche, place it on a rimmed baking sheet on the middle rack of a 325-degree oven for 20 minutes; slices can be reheated in a 375-degree oven for 10 minutes. This recipe use a total of 9 eggs; one egg is separated and the white is used for the crust, while the yolk is used in the filling.

CRUST

CUSTARD FILLING

1. FOR THE CRUST:
Process flour and salt together in food processor until combined, about 3 seconds. Add butter and pulse until butter is size of large peas, about 10 pulses.

2.
Combine sour cream and ¹⁄
₄
cup ice water in small bowl. Add half of sour cream mixture to flour mixture; pulse 3 times. Repeat with remaining sour cream mixture. Pinch dough with fingers; if dough is floury, dry, and does not hold together, add 1 to 2 tablespoons more ice water and pulse until dough forms large clumps and no dry flour remains, 3 to 5 pulses.

3.
Turn dough out onto counter and flatten into 6-inch disk; wrap disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm but not hard, 1 to 2 hours, before rolling. (Dough can be refrigerated for up to 1 day; let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before rolling.)

4.
Cut two 16-inch lengths of aluminum foil. Arrange foil pieces, perpendicular to each other, in 9-inch round cake pan, pushing them into corners and up sides of pan; press overhang against outside of pan. Spray foil lightly with vegetable oil spray.

5.
Roll out dough on generously floured counter to 15-inch circle about ¹⁄
₄
inch thick. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll into prepared cake pan. Working around circumference, ease dough into pan by gently lifting edge of dough with 1 hand while pressing into pan bottom with other. Trim any dough that extends more than 1 inch over edge of pan. Patch any cracks or holes with dough scraps as needed. Refrigerate any remaining dough scraps. Refrigerate dough-lined pan until dough is firm, about 30 minutes, then freeze for 20 minutes.

6.
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line dough with foil or parchment paper and fill completely with pie weights, gently pressing weights into corners of shell. Bake on rimmed baking sheet until exposed edges of dough are beginning to brown but bottom is still light in color, 30 to 40 minutes. Carefully remove foil and pie weights. If any new holes or cracks have formed in dough, patch with reserved scraps. Return shell to oven and bake until bottom is golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes longer. Remove shell from oven and brush interior with egg white. Set aside while preparing filling. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

7. FOR THE CUSTARD FILLING:
Cook bacon in 12-inch skillet over medium heat until crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to paper towel–lined plate and discard all but 2 tablespoons bacon fat from skillet. Return to medium heat, add onions, and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and lightly browned, about 12 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.

8.
Whisk cornstarch and 3 tablespoons milk together in large bowl to dissolve cornstarch. Whisk in remaining milk, eggs, egg yolk, cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne until smooth.

9.
Scatter onions, bacon, and cheese evenly over crust. Gently pour custard mixture over filling. Using fork, push filling ingredients down into custard and drag gently through custard to dislodge air bubbles. Gently tap pan on counter to dislodge any remaining air bubbles.

10.
Bake until top of quiche is lightly browned, toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, and center registers 170 degrees, 1¹⁄
₄
to 1¹⁄
₂
hours. Transfer to wire rack and let stand until cool to touch, about 2 hours.

11.
When ready to serve, use sharp paring knife to remove any crust that extends beyond edge of pan. Lift foil overhang from sides of pan and remove quiche from pan; gently slide thin-bladed spatula between quiche and foil to loosen, then slide quiche onto serving plate. Cut into wedges. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Sweet leeks and tangy blue cheese make perfect partners in this variation.

Omit bacon and onions. Melt 1 tablespoon unsalted butter in 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add 4 large leeks, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise, sliced ¹⁄
₄
inch thick, and washed thoroughly; cook until softened, 10 to 12 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high; continue to cook, stirring constantly, until leeks are beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer leeks to plate lined with triple layer of paper towels; press with double layer of paper towels to remove excess moisture. Increase salt in filling to 1 teaspoon. Substitute 6 ounces crumbled blue cheese for Gruyère; scatter blue cheese and sautéed leeks evenly over crust before adding custard. Reduce baking time to 1 to 1¹⁄
₄
hours.

Be sure to use supermarket-style low-moisture mozzarella in this variation; fresh mozzarella will make for a too-wet filling.

Omit bacon and onions. Cook 8 ounces hot or sweet Italian sausage, casings removed, in 12-inch skillet over medium heat, breaking sausage into ¹⁄
₂
-inch pieces, until no longer pink, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to paper towel–lined plate and discard all but 2 tablespoons fat from skillet. Return skillet to medium heat, add 8 ounces broccoli rabe, trimmed and cut into ¹⁄
₂
-inch pieces, and cook until slightly softened, about 6 minutes. Transfer rabe to plate lined with triple layer of paper towels; press with double layer of paper towels to remove excess moisture. Increase salt in filling to 1 teaspoon. Substitute 6 ounces shredded low-moisture whole-milk mozzarella cheese for Gruyère; scatter mozzarella, cooked sausage, and broccoli rabe evenly over crust before adding custard. Reduce baking time to 1 to 1¹⁄
₄
hours.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

French onion tart is similar to quiche but delivers a more refined slice of pie, with more onions than custard. Trying to make an onion tart at home can produce a tough and crackerlike crust, hardly worth the long hours spent carefully cooking onions and making custard. We needed to simplify the crust and shorten the overall preparation time. We found that covering the onions throughout cooking worked best; they cooked in half the usual time and entirely in their own juices, thereby becoming tender, retaining their pure onion flavor, and cooking more evenly. We added bacon, which acted as a crisp foil to the creamy filling. We tried several classic crust recipes to find one with the butteriness of traditional tart dough but that could still be easily patted into a tart pan. Using a food processor to cut cold butter into the flour mixture required less ice water than a conventional crust, which kept the dough firm enough to press into the pan.

SERVES 6 TO 8

Either yellow or white onions work well in this recipe, but stay away from sweet onions, such as Vidalias, which will make the tart watery. Use a 9-inch tinned-steel tart pan. This tart can be served hot or at room temperature.

CRUST

FILLING

1. FOR THE CRUST:
Spray 9-inch tart pan with vegetable oil spray. Pulse flour, sugar, and salt in food processor until combined, about 4 pulses. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture; pulse until mixture resembles coarse sand, about 15 pulses. Add 2 tablespoons ice water and process until large clumps form and no powdery bits remain, about 5 seconds, adding up to 1 tablespoon more water if dough will not form clumps. Transfer dough to prepared tart pan; pat dough into pan. Lay plastic wrap over dough and smooth out any bumps or shallow areas. Place tart shell on plate and freeze for 30 minutes.

2.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Place frozen tart shell on baking sheet. Spray piece of extra-wide heavy-duty aluminum foil with vegetable oil spray and gently press against dough and over edges of tart pan. Fill with pie weights and bake until top edge just starts to color and surface of dough no longer looks wet, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and remove foil and weights. Return baking sheet with tart shell to oven and bake until golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Set baking sheet with tart shell on wire rack. Do not turn off oven.

3. FOR THE FILLING:
Meanwhile, cook bacon in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towel–lined plate. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons bacon fat from skillet (or add vegetable oil if needed to make this amount).

4.
Add onions, salt, and thyme to skillet. Cover and cook until onions release liquid and start to wilt, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook, covered, until onions are very soft, about 20 minutes, stirring once or twice (if after 15 minutes onions look wet, remove lid and continue to cook another 5 minutes). Remove pan from heat and let onions cool for 5 minutes.

5.
Whisk eggs, half-and-half, and pepper together in large bowl. Remove and discard thyme sprig from onions. Stir onions into egg mixture until just incorporated. Spread onion mixture over tart shell and sprinkle bacon evenly on top.

6.
Bake tart on baking sheet until center of tart feels firm to touch, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on wire rack at least 10 minutes. Remove tart pan ring; gently slide thin-bladed spatula between pan bottom and crust to loosen, then slide tart onto serving plate. Cut into wedges and serve.