Quiche Lorraine

How to prepare quiche lorraine

1. Put the butter and water in the freezer for 15 minutes.
2. In a food processor, add the flour, a pinch of salt, and then the cold butter cut into cubes. Pulse a few times until the flour becomes sandy. Then start the processor again and add the water, tablespoon by tablespoon. The dough should come together into a ball in the processor.
3. With cold hands (hold them under cold tap water), turn the dough onto plastic wrap, shape it into a disc and flatten it as much as you can. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
   * you can use store-bought pâte brisée if you find it
4. While the dough is chilling, cut the ham into strips or cubes. In a pan (without added fat) fry the ham over low heat until crispy. Remove it onto paper towels to drain the excess fat.
   * alongside the ham you can also add a few onion slices when frying; you'll get a quiche alsacienne
5. Roll out the crust into a thin round sheet larger than 25cm in diameter. Using a plate, cut out a circle of 25cm diameter from the sheet. Place the dough circle in a round 20cm diameter pan (I put baking paper on the bottom and greased the sides with a little oil).
7. Place the fried ham over the dough.
8. Sprinkle the grated cheese over the ham.
   * you can make quiche lorraine without cheese; in this case use 225g sour cream and 3 eggs for the cream-egg mixture
9. Beat the eggs well and add the sour cream, along with salt (be careful with the salt! The ham might be salty; taste it first and only then add salt to the cream-egg mixture), pepper to taste (I added quite a lot) and a pinch of ground nutmeg. Pour this mixture over the cheese. Shake the pan a little to distribute the cream evenly.
10. Bake at 180°C/350°F for 35 minutes.
    Let it cool down then slice. It's very good cold or reheated.

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