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Bacon Cheese Mushroom Quiche / Flan / Tart

Introduction & method

If you think real men don't eat quiche, you're missing out - this one is rich with eggs, bacon, cheese and mushrooms in a tasty pastry case. It's pretty easy to make and perfect on a hot summer's day with some salad.

Bacon Cheese Mushroom Quiche / Flan / Tart Recipe

Make the Pastry


Stir the salt into the flour. Cut the butter into small cubes and rub them into the flour until you have a mixture like fine breadcrumbs (a stand mixer on slow-medium with a beater attachment will do this in about a minute). Stir just enough cold water into the mix to make it hold together in a ball. Cover and place in the fridge to rest.

Prep the Bacon and Mushrooms


Remove any fat from the bacon (save it to cook it in later). Sandwich the bacon between layers of kitchen paper and microwave for 2 minutes - this removes the excessive water that commercial bacon is pumped full of these days. Remove the bacon from the paper as soon as you can, but be careful, it will be hot and steamy. Cut the bacon into small rectangles. Cut the bacon fat into small pieces and cook them in a frying pan on low heat. Stir occasionally. After 5-10 minutes the fat should have rendered into liquid and you'll be left with some crunchy bits - drain these off and sneakily eat them as you cook. Wash your mushrooms and slice them thinly. Add them to the bacon fat and cook for 5-10 minutes until all the moisture has gone. Drain and set aside.

Blind Bake the Pastry


Preheat your oven to 160°C (320°F) for a fan oven, 180°C (356°F) for a conventional one, gas 4. Sprinkle the inside of a 23cm (9 inch) diameter loose-bottomed flan dish with flour. Scatter flour on your worktop and rolling pin and roll out the pastry to a disc about 4-5mm (about a quarter of an inch) thick and a bit bigger than your tin. Now roll the pastry around your rolling pin, then gently unroll it across the top of your tin. Take a lump of spare dough, and use it to push the pastry into the bottom edge of your tin. Trim off the excess pastry, but leave a rim around the top. Stab the pastry base all over with a fork, and line it with greaseproof paper. Pour rice or dried beans into the tin to weight the bottom down, and bake it for 20 minutes. When it comes out of the oven, leave it to cool slightly, then remove the greaseproof paper and the rice or beans. Trim the excess pastry around the rim, paint the inside of the case with beaten egg, and put it back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes.

Assemble and Bake


Beat together the eggs, cream, oregano and pepper - try to get some air into it. Now fold in the bacon, mushrooms and most of the cheese. Pour this mixture into the pastry case. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and bake for 15 minutes. The mixture should be set, but hopefully have a bit of a wobble. If the top is a bit pale-looking, turn on the grill/broiler and let it tan for about 5 minutes.




 

Ingredients & Info


PASTRY
 200 grams plain (all-purpose) flour
 100 grams cold butter
 half a tsp salt
 3-4 tbsp cold water
FILLING
 4 eggs
 200 grams mature cheddar cheese
 200 grams smoked bacon
 200 grams mushrooms
 250 ml double (heavy) cream
 1 tsp oregano
 half a tsp ground white pepper

UNITS:
Metric
US Customary/Imperial

Serves 4 -6
Prep time: 15 minutes.
Resting time: 30 minutes.
Cooking time: 40 minutes.
Total time: 1 hour 25 minutes.