Cooking For Engineers

[Dilbert]

quiche - the dish people eat and eat . . . and then 'splain how much they dislike quiche . . .

here's a simple, non-300 ingredient recipe that works quite well:

6 strips bacon ~ 6 ounces ~ 170g
5 eggs - USA large; EU medium
1.25 cups / 295ml half'n'half
1.25 cups / 140g fine grated cheese*
0.5 each fine diced medium onion ~75g ~2.5-3 ounces by weight
1.5 cups rough chopped baby spinach ~120g ~4 ounces by weight
deep dish pie crust** - prebaked

* - the cheese can be any good melting cheese. parmesan, Swiss, mozzarella, asiago . . .
I don't recommend pure cheddar - the cheddar flavor is simply too strong, given the quantity.

** the caveat to the pie crust is "deep dish" - this recipe will overflow a "standard" freezer ready made crust. used a Marie Callendar crust - labeled "deep" - reality, not deep enough ...
if only "standard" crust are the available, put a broiler tray under the pie pan when baking to catch the overflow . . .
or down size the recipe to 3 eggs, reduce everything else by 50%


The How To:

prebake the pie crust, typically at 375'F/190'C. depending on home-made, frozen ready made, or fresh refrigerator dough . . . method varies - pie weights/ dried bean weights recommended.

when done, reduce oven temp to 350'F/175'C for the quiche itself

the bacon/onion/spinach prep:
dice the bacon, allow to slowly render over low heat - this process can easily take 20-30 minutes.
tend/stir regularly to avoid burnt bits.
remove from pan, drain & blot to reduce fat.
looks like:



pour off most of the bacon fat from the pan, add onion - slow fry until soft.
do not rush it . . . 10-15 minutes needed.

in a big bowl, beat eggs, add half'n'half, add grated cheese.

when everything is ready to bake, bring the fry pan with onions (back) up to temperature, add the bacon, add spinach - stir/mix/toss. I also add a tablespoon of water. it only takes 2-3 minutes for the spinach to wilt down.
looks like:



when the hot stuff is ready, stir the egg/half'n'half/cheese mix well (the cheese likes to 'settle out')
add the hot spinach/bacon/onion, mix well, pour into pie pan, into oven.
looks like



baking takes 45-55 minutes. I start checking at 40 minutes, add time until the quiche center has firmed up, does not jiggle when jostled.
when done, allow to cool 15 minutes for hot service, longer/refridgerate for cold service.

as an experiment, I used puff pastry for the crust. bit of a pain,,, puff pastry tends to slide down the pie pan - however it does make a fanciful presentation . . .