I’d made plans the other day to meet my friend in town for lunch after I’d finished my morning shift at work, but unfortunately she had to cancel, so I invited her to my house for lunch the next day instead. When I got home I was wracking my brains trying to think of something to make for our lunch and I eventually decided to go with a rich quiche lorraine.

Quiches are a brilliant tasty meal option to make for lunch or dinner because they require very few ingredients, particularly if you have a block of pastry in your freezer. And even if you don’t have pastry on-hand it’s really easy to knock one up in no time at all. Quiches are also ideal because you can fill them with any number of ingredients and they are a great vegetarian choice as they are delicious when made with vegetables like courgettes, tomatoes and broccoli, to name but a few.

Although I love vegetable quiches, such as my Mediterranean Vegetable Quiche and Broccoli and Parmesan Quiche,  I also enjoy meats like leftover roast chicken or bacon in them, so I decided to make a traditional quiche lorraine for our lunch that day. Quiche Lorraine originates from the Lorraine region of France and the traditional version consists of a rich, savoury shortcrust pastry shell that’s filled to the brim with fresh eggs, double cream, grated cheese and bacon lardons.

Now, my version of quiche lorraine isn’t quite as decadent as the standard full-fat French version, but it’s still very tasty. It’s made with whipped eggs and a dash of rice milk which is mixed with grated cheddar and a generous quantity of smoked bacon strips and it’s then poured into a thyme-infused pastry shell and baked until just the slightest wobble remains after baking. It’s lovely simply served with a green salad and a long natter with a good friend.

Ingredients:

175g gluten-free plain flour (I use Dove’s Farm G/F flour because it’s made with low FODMAP ingredients whereas many other gluten-free flours are made with high FODMAP options.)

100g butter (cold and cut into cubes) or a non-dairy version

1 egg yolk

2 tbsps cold water

2 sprigs of fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried)

4 medium eggs

150g grated mature cheddar (or non-dairy equivalent)

100ml rice milk (or normal, if preferred)

150g smoked bacon (chopped)

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

2 tomatoes (sliced – for decoration)

Method:

Preheat your oven to 200C/180C Fan/400F/Gas Mark 6.

Get a 23cm or 9″ quiche tin and line it with greaseproof paper.

If you’re using ready-rolled shortcrust pastry then roll it out, place it in the quiche tin and cut it to size.

If you’re making your own pastry then measure the flour, butter and thyme into a mixing bowl and rub the butter into the flour until it looks like fine sand. Add the egg yolk and 2 tbsps of cold water to the mixture and bring it together until it forms a dough. Roll it out on a floured worksurface and cut it to size so it fits inside your quiche tin and overlaps the edges slightly. Lightly prick the bottom of the pastry case with a fork. (This helps release air and prevents the bottom from rising.)

If you have baking beans, then line the inside of the pastry shell with greaseproof paper and add the baking beans. If not, don’t worry about it.

Bake the pastry shell for 15-20 mins or until the pastry is golden brown.

While the shell is cooking mix all of the other ingredients together.

When the pastry shell is golden brown take it out of the oven and pour the filling mixture into it. Top with the sliced tomatoes (and more cheese, if you like) and bake it in the oven for about 25 mins or until it only slightly wobbles in the middle when jiggled.

Leave the quiche to cool slightly and then serve it with a fresh salad.

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