3336. FENNEL-SHALLOT-BACON and EDAM QUICHE

makes 1 round 10″ by 2″ deep quiche


Toppings:
1 medium size fennel bulb and some of the tops and stems
1 large shallot
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
3 thick slices of smoked bacon

Egg mixture:
1 cup Edam cheese shredded
5 large eggs room temperature
½ cup heavy cream
¼ cup milk
salt pepper

For the Crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour (plus a little more for rolling) 1 cup whole wheat flour
1-2 pinches of sea salt
2 sticks of butter (1 cup), cold and cut into small squares
1/4-2/3 cup iced cold water.
1- 10″ ceramic-oven safe dish or a pay pan

Measure all your ingredients. Place all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix. Place the bowl in the freezer. Meantime cut your cold butter, and iced water ready to measure. Remove the bowl of dry ingredients from freezer and add the butter. With a pastry blender incorporate the butter and flour until the mixture resembles to a coarse meal, and the butter pieces are small like the size of a pea. Slowly add the cold water and carefully, with your hands, form a dough that just holds together. Be careful not to over work the dough this will give you a flakier crust. 
Once that the dough coarsely holds together, wrap your dough in plastic wrap and shape it into a disk. 
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour; you can rush it by placing into freezer for 20-25 minutes.

Preheat Oven at 400.
In clean work surface, dusted with flour unwrap the dough let sit for a couple of minutes and roll it into a 18-20” round and about 1/4” thick. Once is rolled place it into quiche pan and start pushing down the inside edges to make sure the pastry dough takes the shape of the dish.

Let the edges of the pastry up to extend beyond the dish edge. Prick the crust a few times all around and blind bake in the oven for about 16-20 minutes at 400 F/  200 C.

Remove from the oven and let it cool for at least 20 minutes.

Prepare your toppings: Render the bacon pieces until crunchy, save 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat. Finely cut your fennel; include some of the green tops and stems, shallots, garlic and shred your cheese. In a saute pan add the 2 tablespoons of bacon fat and a glug of olive oil, sauté the fennel, shallots, and garlic. Let it come to room temperature. Mix, the eggs, heavy cream and milk, some salt and pepper.

Start assembling your quiche: Spread half of the cheese on the bottom of the crust, add bacon crisps, spread the sautéed fennel and shallots. Then add the egg mixture, top with the rest of the shredded Edam cheese, top with some freshly cracked pepper. Place into the 350F oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until the top looks golden brown and slightly giggles in the center. Let it cool on a rack for about 15 minutes until totally set. Serve warm with a green salad, or tomato soup.


bacon recipe source: Mariana McEnroe, Yes, more please!, November 19, 2013