Catholic Recipe: Quiche Lorraine
Quiche has been given such a bad reputation over the years, but mostly by people who haven't tried it! This is can be an entree, or a first course or an appetizer.
Quiche originated in northeastern France in the Alsace-Lorraine region. It is a pastry shell filled with a custard made of eggs, cheese, cream, seasonings and other ingredients, including onions, mushrooms, ham, shellfish or herbs. Quiche Lorraine has ham or bacon in the custard filling.
DIRECTIONS
Line 9-inch pie plate with pie crust. Melt butter in small heavy saucepan. Add ham; cook 5 minutes or until ham is golden brown. Remove ham; set aside. Add onion to pan; cook 5 minutes. Remove onion; set aside. Cover bottom of pie shell with mixture of ham, onion, and 1/4 cup grated cheese. Combine remaining cheese, eggs, milk, cream, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Mix well. Pour over ham mixture. Bake at 450° for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°; continue baking 15 minutes longer or until custard is well set. Serve warm, cut in small wedges to serve 12 as an appetizer, or in larger wedges to serve 6 as a main dish.
Recipe Source: Cook's Blessings, The by Demetria Taylor, Random House, New York, 1965