Quiche Lorraine is one of the most decadent and versatile dishes to make. Paired with a warmed croissant or a piece of freshly baked brioche, it can make a tasty breakfast. Combine it with a mixed green salad and a light dressing, and you could easily serve it for lunch, brunch, or even a spring supper.
There is so much to love about quiche. It has dough, cheese and bacon. It also has lots of fat hidden in its deceptively light and luxurious texture. But that doesn’t mean you have to break a diet to indulge. By controlling portion size, changing the traditional heavy cream for whole milk and using reduced fat cheese, you can save a bunch of calories and fat.
One piece of quiche can easily have between 500 and 800 calories! And who eats just one piece? This lighter version tops out at just over 300 calories and has all the favor and light texture of its heavier counterpart.
Cook Time
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 TBS butter, cold
- 2 TBS water, cold
- 2 eggs
- 1 TBS flour
- 1 cup milk, whole
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 6 slices bacon, crushed
- 4 oz Swiss cheese, low fat
Method
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Mix 1 cup of flour and the salt together with a whisk. Dice the cold butter into squares and using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles course meal. Add the water and mix until the dough starts to form a ball.
- On a lightly floured surface, work the dough into a smooth soft ball and then flatten into a round. With a rolling pin, roll the dough into a circle that is slightly larger than a 9 inch pie dish.
- Fold the rolled out dough in half and lift and place into the pie dish. Unfold and gently form the dough to the dish. Trim off the excess dough and crimp the edges of the dough.
- Cover the unbaked crust with foil and line with dried beans or rice to keep the crust from buckling. Bake for 6-10 minutes. Remove beans and foil and set aside. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with 1 TBS of flour until frothy. Add the milk, salt and nutmeg and continue whisking until well blended.
- Cut the Swiss cheese into narrow strips, about 1/4″ wide.
- Sprinkle about one third of the crushed bacon on the bottom of the baked pie crust. Pour about a third of the egg mixture on top of the bacon and top with one third of the cheese strips.
- Repeat layering until all bacon, cheese and egg mixture is used, or pie dish is full.
- Place the unbaked quiche on a parchment-lined baking sheet and place in the center of the oven. Bake for approximately one hour, or until the quiche has set and is nicely browned.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool 10-15 minutes before serving.
