kiss lorraine - quiche in all its splendour

I don't know about you, but my first experiences with Quiche Lorraine do not rank in my favourite. I remember thinking that if ever I have kids, I would never dream of making them eat it. I'm sure it was quite tasty, but what made me gag was the whitish clear liquid that used to seep from it... it's probably normal but it just made me wish I had stayed over a friend's house for dinner. Another one of those dishes I loathed was cooked ham - it had those crunchy fatty parts - although I don't see what I was fretting about now, with all the liquid in the world I was unable to swoosh it down my throat. So in memory of my childhood terrors, why not combine the two?

I made this quiche in order to finish up some pie dough that was sitting in the fridge and it was actually edible and surprisingly good. I sliced it up and put it in the freezer and it became a useful option for lunch, I even ate it of my own free will. I now have some pie dough and a big bag of spinach sitting in the fridge, I'll give spinach quiche a shot and will post it if it turns out well.


You will need a big momma pie dish for this (23cm) with decent depth. I like to use the smaller cheap aluminium dishes, so I made two out of this recipe


Ham and Broccoli Quiche

• 1 pie crust - I promise I will post a recipe soon - I have been converted to the Vorwerk, but will try it by hand to see if it works; roll it out and place it in pie dish, poke it with a fork and line with foil or baking paper, fill with lentils or beans and bake for 15-20 mins at 200C, or basically until the edges turn golden; remove the beans and leave to cool
• 7 eggs
• 1 c broccoli heads
• 3/4 c cheese (mix some regular cheese (eg. cheddar) with some parmesan for a little more bite or whatever you have lying around)
• 4-5 slices cooked ham cut in to little strips - I used a big chunk of cooked ham
• 2-3 spring onions, chopped, or any kind of onion
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

1. In a large bowl, whip up the eggs.
2. Add all other ingredients save 1/4 c of the grated cheese.
3. Give it a good mix and pour it into the prepared pie shell.
4. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over it.
5. Bake at 180C for 35 minutes until it is set. Let it cool before cutting/serving.

Ok, I can't believe I'm actually posting TWO quiche recipes, man did I loathe this stuff! Anyways, so I saved the poor spinach from a vertical trip into the bin and whipped up a spinach quiche. The recipe I have calls for frozen spinach, thawed and drained - I used fresh leaves, just chopped them up and poured the egg mix over them, perhaps not the best strategy as all the cheese just sat on top and the spinach was at risk of burning, so I had to mix it all up and it became green quiche. Therefore, if using fresh spinach, perhaps wilt it quickly in a pan prior to dumping it into the pie shell...


Spinach Quiche

• pie shell - pre-cooked with lentils/beans for 15 mins at 200C
• 5 eggs
• 3/4c milk
• 1/2tsp salt
• 1/4tsp pepper
• 150g spinach - if frozen, make sure it is well thawed and drained
• 125g grated cheese

1. Preheat over to 190C.
2. Whisk up the eggs with the milk, salt and pepper.
3. Add in the cheese and give it a good stir.
4. Line the bottom of the cooked pie crust with the spinach.
5. Pour the egg/cheese mixture over the spinach.
6. Cook at 190C for 15 mins and then for a further 20 mins at 160C - it took about 15 mins more for me until it was became nice and golden... but then our oven really stinks...