So… I went to a pretty epic cheese shop called La Ferme Saint Hubert, on Rue Rochechouart in the 9th arrondissement in Paris. Amongst all of the delicious looking hard, soft, raw, pasteurised, mouldy, and waxy cheeses on offer, you can also get your cultured French butters, curds, and creams which are also irresistible when you’re shopping on an empty stomach. After a big run that morning and a day of working, my brain at this point had turned into jelly so fast food was a necessity. I grabbed a tub of creme fraiche with 30% butterfat (none of that low-fat business), then picked up some eggs, lardons, and refrigerator pate brisee (a shortcrust pastry for tarts) around the corner in the grocery store.

As soon as I got home, the oven was turned on, the pastry laid down into a quiche tin, and an eggy mixture was being whisked together with a fork. 45mins later and out came a fully fledged Quiche Lorraine that was absolutely no frills, yet tastier than ever thanks to the smoked lardons.

The recipe is below… Good ingredients, good food, good life.

A Super Simple, Super Quick, No Frills Quiche Lorraine (no onions or cheese in sight!)

You will need:
about 200g pate brisse or shortcrust pastry (if it was frozen, allow time for it to defrost)
200g Lardons (i used smoked lardons, but alternatively you can use fatty bacon cut into small pieces instead)
A good knob of butter (30g)
3 eggs
salt & pepper
200ml creme fraiche or cream
200ml milk
A pinch of nutmeg, grated

Preheat your oven to 180C. Lay your pastry down into the quiche tin, gently pressing down the edges. Using a fork, prick holes in the base and place bean sized pieces of butter around it (using up all of the butter).

In a frypan, sautee your lardons until they are just cooked and tip them onto the base of the quiche tin on top of the butter. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with a fork, then add the creme fraiche, milk, salt & pepper to taste, and nutmeg. When the mixture is well combined, pour all of it onto the lardons, then slide the quiche tin into the middle of your oven to cook for 45-50 mins. When it’s ready the top should be golden brown, and the centre should wobble a tiny bit when shaken (if it’s still quite liquid, it will need more time and if the top is burning just put some foil over the top).

Cool a few minutes out of the oven before eating so that the quiche has time to settle.