Französische Zwiebelquiche

Zutaten

• 200 g (7 oz) plain (all purpose) flour
• 60 g (2 oz) unsalted butter
• 40 g (1 1/2 oz) lard (see note)
• sea salt
• 6 small white onions (approx. 600g / 1 lb 5 oz)
• 45 g (1 1/2 oz) unsalted butter
• sea salt
• 100 g (3 1/2 oz) full fat creme fraiche
• 2 large egg yolks
• 100 ml (3 1/2 fl oz) semi-skimmed milk
• 2 large eggs
• generous pinch ground nutmeg
• freshly ground black pepper
• gruyere cheese (optional)

Zubereitung

1. 1

   Blitz together the flour, unsalted butter (cubed), lard (again, cubed) with a pinch of salt in a food processor until you’ve formed crumbs. Gradually blitz in up to 2 tbsp of ice water until the dough starts to form together and stick slightly.

2. 2

   Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and using a light touch bring together into a smooth ball. If you’ve added a bit too much water making it a bit sticky don’t worry, just add a little more flour.

3. 3

   Generously grease a relatively deep (a regular, not one of the skinny ones) loose bottomed, fluted tart tin of approximately 20 cm with an additional bit of butter or lard.

4. 4

   Flour the work surface and roll out the pastry so that it is just bigger than the tin. Carefully slide the rolling pin under the pastry and use it to lift it over the tin without cracking. Gently let the edges down into the pin, using your fingers to press it into the edges.

5. 5

   Using a sharp knife on an angle, slice away the excess pastry leaving just a slight lip. Use your fingers to smarten this up, before chilling the pastry case while you make the filling.

6. 6

   Peel the onions and slice them into thin half moons. Heat the butter in a medium non-stick frying over a medium low heat pan and add the onions with a generous pinch of sea salt. Cook, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes.

7. 7

   Turn the heat up to medium and cook the onion for a further 15 minutes, taking them from soft and melting to golden and just starting to crisp in places.

8. 8

   Meanwhile, whisk the creme fraiche and egg yolks together until smooth before adding the milk and the other two eggs. Season generously with a pinch of nutmeg, salt and pepper. Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees (375 farenheit).

9. 9

   Spread 3/4 of the onions across the bottom of the pastry case and pour over the egg mixture. Sprinkle over the remaining onions and bake, sitting on a baking tray for 35-40 minutes until the egg mixture is set, and has turned puffy and golden.

10. 10

    Release from the pastry case as soon as it is cool enough to touch before slicing.