The JollyZone Quiche
- Aug 4, 2024
- 7 min read
Updated: Sep 14
There is a big variety of Quiche out there, the original French one being the Quiche Lorraine of course. I like a very rich one, with a lot of savoury filling, and I like my quiche to rise nicely as it really looks quite good.
You can make it a vegetarian Quiche by just omitting the rashers.
I love making this, as it's so handy to prepare all the ingredients the day before, then assemble the Quiche and cook it just before serving it - although it's quite nice served at room temperature as well.
You'll see here the easy family version (the one mould) and the party version (12 moulds), which does in fact present some challenges.
Ingredients (Family version):
For the pastry:
125gr salted butter
1 egg
250gr plain flour
1 pinch of fine ground salt
For the filling:
250gr cooking cream (I prefer soy cream as it's lighter)
150gr various grated cheese (personally I use 70gr red cheddar, 20gr smoked cheese, 20gr goat cheese, 20gr salted ricotta, 20gr parmesan)
200gr smoked streaky rashers (omit this if making the vegetarian version)
3 eggs
1 yolk
2 slugs of vegetable oil
2 medium onions
200gr frozen peas
NO salt (given the other ingredients, I've used it once and really regretted it!)
2 pinches of freshly ground black pepper
2 pinches of ground nutmeg
Ingredients (Party version):
For the pastry:
Exactly double the quantities than for the family version
For the filling:
350gr cooking cream (I prefer soy cream as it's lighter)
250gr various grated cheese (personally I use 70gr red cheddar, 20gr smoked cheese, 20gr goat cheese, 20gr salted ricotta, 20gr parmesan)
350gr smoked streaky rashers (omit this if making the vegetarian version)
4 eggs
2 slugs of vegetable oil
3 big onions
300gr frozen peas
NO salt (given the other ingredients, I've used it once and really regretted it!)
3 pinches of freshly ground black pepper
3 pinches of ground nutmeg
Method:
TIP: This is a type of shortcrust pastry, so it's all about the cold temperature. You need to handle it as little as possible, and you need to put it in the fridge throughout the process often and in different stages.
Note for the Party version: make 2 balls of pastry, so use the family version recipe twice. It will be so much easier to handle.
Pastry method (for both versions):
Cut the butter in cubes
Pour the flour in the middle of your kitchen counter in the classic fountain shape, then make a hole in the middle to accommodate the other ingredients
Put the butter cubes, the egg and the salt in the middle
Work it all quickly with your hands (if they're very warm, cool them down before under cold water before starting): it would look like there's not enough liquid at the beginning, but you'll see that there's just enough
STOP working the pastry as soon as it forms a ball and all the flour is absorbed. This is key, you don't want to overwork this pastry at all
Wrap the pastry quite well in cling film and store it in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour, better for 2 hours (or up to 24 hours, or freeze it)
Filling Method (for both versions):
Chop the onions and the rashers, then stir fry them until cooked and translucent in a non-stick pan with the oil - be careful not to let the rashers go crispy
Add the peas to the pan, stir it well and cook until tender
Uncover for the last 5-10 mins so that it's quite dry (but does not stick to the pan)
TIP: the above mixture can keep in the fridge for 1 day
Grate all the cheese - and again, you can then mix it and store it in an airtight container for 1 day
On the day of serving: beat the eggs until frothy, add the little salt you're using, the black pepper and the nutmeg
Add the cream and the grated cheese to the egg mixture
Combine the peas, rashers etc (once reached room temperature, or from the fridge) with the eggs, cream and cheese and set aside
Assemble the Quiche - Family version:
Take the pastry out of the fridge (if it was in the fridge for longer than 1 hour, take the pastry out of the fridge 1.5 hours before starting working)
Butter your deep cake tin and dust it with flour (shake off any excess)
Cut two strips of baking paper and place them as a cross over your baking tin ensuring they reach well above the edges, they need to be 2 cm over the edges on each side: you'll find this very handy when you get to take the Quiche out of the mould and you don't want to spoil the final finish of the pastry case
TIP: if you have a quick release baking tin, you can omit the butter+flour coat, and simply put a layer of baking paper into your baking tin, ensuring it covers both the bottom and all the edges up to the top
At this point, remove from the oven the big tray that usually comes with the oven and fits into a shelf groove, then pre-heat your oven at 200 degrees C (fan)
Cover your kitchen counter with a sheet of baking paper, put the pastry on top and then cover it with another sheet of baking paper
Using the ball and palm of your hand start flattening it out, then roll it with the rolling pin to a thickness of 0.5 cm
Remove the top layer of baking paper
Cut out the circle of your Quiche base: it will have to cover the bottom and go up to the edges of the mould, so: if using the single 24cm diameter mould, cut out a circle of 26-27cm
Put the two strips of baking paper as a cross over your pastry, then put the baking tin upside down on top
Lift the bottom layer of baking paper on opposite sides and flip everything upside down: your pastry will naturally fall inside your baking tin, make sure you refine it: using your hands start from the center and gently press it to the bottom, working your way to the edges and up the edges until you reach the top - here trim off any excess pastry with a knife
(I forgot to take a photo of this, sorry, will do next time)
Pour your filling mixture into the baking tin almost up to the top
Place the Quiche in the middle shelf of the oven, reduce the temperature to 180 degrees C (fan) and then put the reserved big oven tray upside down on the shelf right above the Quiche: it will prevent it from burning
Bake for 50 mins, then remove the protective shelf, reduce the temperature to 160 or 170 degrees C and bake for another 10 mins (make sure it doesn't burn)
Remove from the oven and let it cool down into the baking tin until cool enough to handle: if you want to eat it while warm, don't worry as the center filling will remain hot enough.
If using a quick release tin put a chopping board on top and flip it upside down, then release the edges border, remove the baking paper, use another chopping board or the serving plate and flip it back up again
If using the buttered+floured tin method with the two strips, you could try to lift the quiche from the tin by using the edges of the strips to lift it up. If that doesn't work because the quiche is too heavy (it may happen), then use the chopping board flipping method described above, as it should work perfectly as well.
Assemble the Quiche - Party version:
Butter the moulds, then dust them with flour and shake off the excess
Cut out 1 strip of baking paper per mould of roughly 2cm width each, with enough length to cover the bottom, come up the edges, and hang off by 2cm on each side
Place the strip of baking paper forming a cross into each mould and have them at the ready
At this point, remove from the oven the big tray that usually comes with the oven and fits into a shelf groove, then pre-heat your oven at 200 degrees C (fan)
TIP: also remove from the oven one of the shelves (so you can put all your mini quiches on it when it's cold, then put it all together in the oven when you're ready)
Cover your kitchen counter with a sheet of baking paper, put the pastry on top and then cover it with another sheet of baking paper
Using the ball and palm of your hand start flattening it out, then roll it with the rolling pin to a thickness of 0.5 cm
Remove the top layer of baking paper
You will need to cut out circles big enough to cover the edges of your moulds, so if using the smaller moulds of 10cm of diameter, cut out circles of 12-13 cm each
Here are my moulds: the one used for the mini-quiche and the one I used to cut out the circles of pastry: to the left the mini-quiche mould, to the right a quick release mini baking tin just a little bigger, that I used to cut the pastry circles. You can also see how one fits into the other
TIP: It is handy to cut out just about 3-4 circles at a time.
Place the strips of baking paper as a cross over each mould, then put the mini-quiche moulds in the middle upside down
Now use a chopping board or a tray to cover those 3-4 moulds, then lift the bottom layer of the baking paper together with the tray and flip everything upside down
Trim the edges of the pastry right at the top, and re-use the left over pastry with the rest until you finish the cases of all your moulds
Pour your filling mixture into the baking tins almost up to the top
Place the shelf with the mini-quiche moulds in the middle shelf of the oven, reduce the temperature to 180 degrees C (fan) and then put the reserved big oven tray upside down on the shelf right above the mini-quiches: it will prevent them from burning
Bake for 40 mins, then remove the protective shelf, reduce the temperature to 160 or 170 degrees C and bake for another 10 mins (make sure it doesn't burn) - keep an eye on them, every oven will vary. Sometimes, I did not need to take off the protective top shelf and they cooked perfectly.
Remove from the oven and let them cool down into the moulds until cool enough to handle: if you want to eat them while warm, don't worry as the center filling will remain hot enough.
Lift the mini-quiches from the moulds by using the edges of the strips to lift them up: they'll come out perfectly.
Remove the baking paper strips and put them onto your serving plate
TIP: if you want to bring your mini-quiches to a party, I would advise to keep them in their moulds during transport, then lift them up, remove the baking paper strips and put them on a serving plate there.
