monsieur” that wins hands down, every time. The original recipe comes from
The Harry’s Bar Cookbook
(first published in Great Britain by Smith Gryphon, 1991).
Note: the filling quantity will give you far more than you need for the following recipe, but it keeps well in the fridge for a week. It further freezes well, packed into small, lidded pots for future occasions.
Put all the filling ingredients (except the cream) into the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth; it should be easily spread, so now add the cream if needed. Spoon out into a plastic container, cover and keep in the fridge until ready to use.Take a slice of bread, cover with a thin layer of cheese mixture almost to the edge, place a slice of ham over that and finally place another slice of bread on the ham. Press down firmly and then repeat the process for the second sandwich. Cut off the crusts and liberally brush (or spray) each side of the sandwiches with olive oil.
Now, heat a large, non-stick frying pan until medium-hot. Cut each sandwich in half to give 4 rectangles, and fry in the dry pan until gorgeously golden and crusted on each side—about 2 minutes per side. Eat forthwith, and not without napkins.
quiche Lorraine
serves 4
for the filling
10–12 thin slices of smoked streaky bacon, cut into slivers
4 egg yolks
3 whole eggs
14 oz heavy cream
a little salt and much freshly ground white pepper
a generous scraping from a whole nutmeg
for the pastry
5 tbsp butter
5 tbsp lard
7 oz all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
2–3 tbsp ice-cold water
Pedant that I am, it had always annoyed me that, when fashioning a lovely quiche Lorraine, the little chunks of bacon always sank to the bottom of the pastry crust while the quiche cooked. As I have always preferred a deepish enclosure to the custard filling, this irritating scenario soon became tiresome, and needed solving. And why was it that the same quiche in a fine Parisian pâtisserie had nicely golden bits of bacon poking up out of its eggy surface, and mine did not? Well, the trick is to use the thinnest bacon slices rather than, say lardons (so readily available now, ready cut, I know) and cut them into small slivers. These will then float to the surface, but also nicely suspend themselves throughout the mixture as it sets.
Result, as they say.
To make the pastry, cut the butter and lard into small chunks and place in a large bowl with the flour and salt. Gently rub the fat into the flour using fingertips until the texture resembles very coarse breadcrumbs. Mix in only just enough water to bind the mixture together. Lightly knead this dough until well combined, dust with flour and slip into a plastic bag. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes before using.
Preheat the oven to 350°F and also place a flat baking sheet in there, which will help to cook the base of the quiche more evenly.
Roll out the pastry as thinly as possible, use to line a 8 in wide by 1½ in deep tart pan, lightly prick the base with a fork all over, then bake blind. This is done by lining the uncooked pastry crust with a sheet of kitchen foil and filling with some dried beans, for instance. It is then cooked for about 15–20 minutes on the flat baking sheet, removed from the oven, and the foil and beans transferred to a container for future use. Return the pastry crust to the oven for a further 10 minutes or so, until it is pale golden, crisp and well cooked through, particularly the base.
Lightly fry the bacon in a dry, non-stick frying pan for a minute or two, until crisp and some of the fat has run out. Drain on paper towels and spread out evenly over the base of the cooked tart crust. Whisk the egg yolks and whole eggs together, stir in the cream and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Pour the custard into the pastry crust and cook for 30–40 minutes, or until nicely puffed and the surface of the custard is pale golden and just set. Eat warm, or at room temperature. Hot quiche, straight from the
The Harry’s Bar Cookbook
(first published in Great Britain by Smith Gryphon, 1991).
Note: the filling quantity will give you far more than you need for the following recipe, but it keeps well in the fridge for a week. It further freezes well, packed into small, lidded pots for future occasions.
Put all the filling ingredients (except the cream) into the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth; it should be easily spread, so now add the cream if needed. Spoon out into a plastic container, cover and keep in the fridge until ready to use.Take a slice of bread, cover with a thin layer of cheese mixture almost to the edge, place a slice of ham over that and finally place another slice of bread on the ham. Press down firmly and then repeat the process for the second sandwich. Cut off the crusts and liberally brush (or spray) each side of the sandwiches with olive oil.
Now, heat a large, non-stick frying pan until medium-hot. Cut each sandwich in half to give 4 rectangles, and fry in the dry pan until gorgeously golden and crusted on each side—about 2 minutes per side. Eat forthwith, and not without napkins.
quiche Lorraine
serves 4
for the filling
10–12 thin slices of smoked streaky bacon, cut into slivers
4 egg yolks
3 whole eggs
14 oz heavy cream
a little salt and much freshly ground white pepper
a generous scraping from a whole nutmeg
for the pastry
5 tbsp butter
5 tbsp lard
7 oz all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
2–3 tbsp ice-cold water
Pedant that I am, it had always annoyed me that, when fashioning a lovely quiche Lorraine, the little chunks of bacon always sank to the bottom of the pastry crust while the quiche cooked. As I have always preferred a deepish enclosure to the custard filling, this irritating scenario soon became tiresome, and needed solving. And why was it that the same quiche in a fine Parisian pâtisserie had nicely golden bits of bacon poking up out of its eggy surface, and mine did not? Well, the trick is to use the thinnest bacon slices rather than, say lardons (so readily available now, ready cut, I know) and cut them into small slivers. These will then float to the surface, but also nicely suspend themselves throughout the mixture as it sets.
Result, as they say.
To make the pastry, cut the butter and lard into small chunks and place in a large bowl with the flour and salt. Gently rub the fat into the flour using fingertips until the texture resembles very coarse breadcrumbs. Mix in only just enough water to bind the mixture together. Lightly knead this dough until well combined, dust with flour and slip into a plastic bag. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes before using.
Preheat the oven to 350°F and also place a flat baking sheet in there, which will help to cook the base of the quiche more evenly.
Roll out the pastry as thinly as possible, use to line a 8 in wide by 1½ in deep tart pan, lightly prick the base with a fork all over, then bake blind. This is done by lining the uncooked pastry crust with a sheet of kitchen foil and filling with some dried beans, for instance. It is then cooked for about 15–20 minutes on the flat baking sheet, removed from the oven, and the foil and beans transferred to a container for future use. Return the pastry crust to the oven for a further 10 minutes or so, until it is pale golden, crisp and well cooked through, particularly the base.
Lightly fry the bacon in a dry, non-stick frying pan for a minute or two, until crisp and some of the fat has run out. Drain on paper towels and spread out evenly over the base of the cooked tart crust. Whisk the egg yolks and whole eggs together, stir in the cream and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Pour the custard into the pastry crust and cook for 30–40 minutes, or until nicely puffed and the surface of the custard is pale golden and just set. Eat warm, or at room temperature. Hot quiche, straight from the
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