Quiche

I can't believe I haven't already done this.

Anyway.....

Quiche is a staple food in my family, and we eat it year-round. I do mini quiches when I'm entertaining, in a muffin pan. You can too, but here I'm showing you regular pie-sized quiches.

Now the thing about quiche is that it doesn't matter what the filling is. You can use anything. Seafood is good, veggies are good, spicy sausage is good, etc etc.

But my default quiche is bacon, onion, mushroom, and tomato. As follows:

First you need a pastry crust. I have Tom, who makes the best pastry outside of France. You can make it, buy it pre-made, buy it frozen, or whatever, but you need a pastry case. Tip: roll it out slightly thicker than usual as the filling is runny to begin with.

Use any type of pie dish you like:

The nest step is to fill it with whatever you like. I begin with cheese. When I say cheese I mean old cheddar, that's my default cheese:

Then add onion, we used a mixture of white, red, and green:

Bacon, partially cooked:

Mushrooms:

And now we need the substance of the thing, which is a custard of egg and milk, with salt and pepper to season. There is no absolute amount here, the object is to cover the other ingredients, just remember to use 3 eggs to every cup of milk. (But, cream is better, use any cream you have. If it's the thickest types, add another egg). DO NOT fill it right to the top. Egg rises.

Finally, top with tomato:

And put it in the oven (175C, 350F, I have no idea what that is in British gas). Cook until top is golden, and filling is set (test with a skewer). It will set a bit more as it cools, but don't take it out of the oven if it's still runny. It can take up to an hour, depending on how deep it is, but we cook 4 at a time, after 20 minutes we swap them around in the oven, top to bottom and vice versa. After 40 minutes, check for "doneness".

Quiche is intended to be served COLD, but I have family members who prefer it warm, so I humour them. I like it next day, fully cold, and served with a salad. It gets better with age, within reason, and I'm told it keeps for 5 days in the fridge, but it never lasts that long here.