Ingredients:
9 inches pie pastry crust, unbaked
1 cup swiss cheese, shredded ( measured in a measuring cup not weighed)
3/4-1 cup diced cooked ham or 3/4-1 cup diced cooked bacon or 3/4-1 cup crumbled cooked bacon
1/4-1/2 cup onions (optional) or 1/4-1/2 cup green peppers (optional) or 1/4-1/2 cup mushrooms, sauteed in a little butter until limp (optional)
fresh nutmeg (for grating) or ground nutmeg, to taste
4 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup heavy cream or 3/4 cup double cream or 3/4 cup half-and-half cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
salt, to taste
white pepper, to taste
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Line an UNGREASED deep dish pie plate with the pie pastry, folding edges over and crimping decoratively.
Use a measuring cup to portion out the shredded cheese (if you go by the weight in ounces/grams, you will end up with excess cheese, as shredded cheese is very lightweight.) Sprinkle cheese over pastry, following by the meat, and sauteed vegetables (if using).
Using a whisk, combine the eggs, milk, cream,flour, and melted butter (cooled slightly, but still liquid) until well combined. Season to taste with some salt and white pepper (black is fine if you don’t mind seeing the specks). Be careful with the seasoning if you have added bacon, as the bacon already can add quite a bit of salt.
Pour over the meat, cheese, and veggies.
Using a microplane grater or a nutmeg grater, freshly grate a light dusting of nutmeg over the entire surface of the quiche to taste (don’t go overboard).
Bake in the center of your preheated oven for 40 minutes or until it has puffed,is bubbling, is very lightly browned, and a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
It will still jiggle like chilled gelatin, but should not be watery or slosh around.
Do not overcook or it will get tough.
Let cool 10 minutes before slicing into 8 slices.
If you don’t let it cool the 10 minutes, it will fall apart.
The puffiness will sink during the cooling period and the quiche will flatten out quite a bit-this is normal.
You can leave out the vegetables entirely or mix up several of the veggies together.
You can also substitute more veggies (or other veggies such as cooked broccoli or sauteed zucchini slices) for all of the meat.
I like my quiche to be more eggy, less cheesey- if you like it to be really cheesey, add an additional 1/2 cup cheese.
Servings: 8
Time preparation: 15 min.
Time total: 55 min.