Quiche
When most people think of quiche, they assume it's French in origin. That's only reasonable given that quiche originated in France and has been a mainstay of French cuisine for generations. Surprisingly, however, the quiche originated in Germany. It dates back to medieval times, when it became a popular dish in the kingdom of Lothringen. It is thought that the name "quiche" derives from the German word "kuchen," which meaning cake–though it does not resemble what we know as cake today.Eventually, during the Middle Ages battles that raged across Europe, France attacked Lothringen. They determined that the native name was no longer appropriate for a territory that was now French, so they renamed it Lorraine to better suit their language. The occupying armies realized how tasty quiche could be, and it quickly became a favorite meal across France. Lorraine, the quiche, was created.The original 'quiche Lorraine' was an open pie with an egg and cream custard topped with smoky bacon. Only later was cheese introduced to the quiche Lorraine. Quiche Alsacienne is made with onions. The bottom crust was initially formed of bread dough, but it has since been replaced by a short-crust or puff pastry shell.Quiche became popular in England after World War II, and in the United States throughout the 1950s. Because of its mostly vegetarian ingredients, it was seen to be a 'unmanly' dish – "real men don't eat quiche." Today, there are many other types of quiche, ranging from the traditional quiche Lorraine to those containing broccoli, mushrooms, and ham.I made a quiche with spinach, green onion, swiss cheese and it was amazing. What I love about this dish is that you can add any ingredients you like and, more than this, you can it eat for lunch, dinner and you can even take it and eat it on the go.
Ingredients
Dough
- 200 g flour
- 110 g butter
- 30 ml water
Filling
- 400 ml cooking cream
- 200 g hard cheese
- 200 g swiss cheese
- 100 g spinach
- 3 green onions
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
Dough
- For the pastry, put the flour, cold butter, cut into pieces, and cold water into a food processor. Mix until the pastry comes together in a ball.
- Let the dough rest in the fridge for 15-20 minutes.
- Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and use it to line a 20cm loose-bottomed flan tin.
- Preheat the oven to 200˚C. Prick the pastry case all over with a fork, to prevent air bubbles forming during baking. Line the base and sides with baking parchment and weigh it down with baking beans. You can use also beans, chickpeas as a weight. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove the beans and paper and bake the empty case for a further 5-8 minutes, or until the base is lightly browned.
Filling
- Finely chop the spinach and green onion. In a bowl, add cream, eggs, swiss cheese, season with salt and pepper and mix.
- Pour everything into the dough, put grated hard cheese on top and bake for 20-25 minutes at 180˚C.
Notes
