I usually call this Nigel's Quiche. Nigel is the rector of my church in Manchester and after I had this quiche at his house, I asked him for the recipe. It is rich and extremely delicious; made with fresh cream.
Pastry:
240g plain flour
120g butter
1 - 2 tablespoons cold water
Quiche:
200g grated cheese
100ml milk
200ml single cream
5 eggs
Handful thyme leaves
1 onion
This recipe is enough for a large 25cm baking tin, but it would also work in two 15cm tins.
There is no need to line the tin with baking paper, just grease it well with butter.
To make the pastry, make sure the butter is nice and soft, so it will mix easily. If it is too cold, just cut it into cubes and then microwave it for 10 seconds. Then mix the butter and flour together until it starts to look like breadcrumbs. You can use your fingers or the mixer for this. As soon as it is blended, bring the dough together with 1 – 2 tablespoons of cold water. It is better to use your hands at this stage, but don’t handle the dough too much. As soon as it comes together and forms a ball, roll it out onto a worktop which has been sprinkled with loads of flour.
Roll the pastry until it is large enough to fit into your baking tin, with enough to go up the sides. An easy way to lift the pastry into the tin without it breaking is to fold both the sides inwards, so that they meet in the middle, then carefully lift it into the tin and then unfold the sides. Press the pastry into the side of the tin and scrunch it round the edges with your fingers. The pastry needs to be cold before you cook it, to prevent it from shrinking, so put it in the freezer for 10 minutes while you make the filling.
Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees/160 degrees fan or gas mark 4.
Chop the onion and fry it on a low heat in some butter for around 10 minutes, until it is soft and caramelised. In a large jug, mix the milk, single cream and eggs together and stir well. Add in a large handful of thyme leaves. You can use dried herbs, if you don’t have any fresh ones. Grate 200g of hard cheese; Cheddar or Red Leicester, or a mixture of both. Put all these ingredients to one side for now.
When the pastry is nice and cold, cover it with a sheet of baking paper and then fill it with baking beans or rice and cook for 20 minutes. The baking beans prevent the pastry from rising as it cooks. Carefully remove the paper and the baking beans and spread the cooked onion and the cheese across the pastry base. Carefully pour in the milk, cream and egg mixture. It should come to just below the top of the baking tin. Bake for 35 – 40 minutes. It will be ready when the middle of the quiche is no longer wobbly.
Serve with a salad or chips, or both.
If you want to make the quiche in advance, it will only take 10 minutes in the oven to warm it up again.
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