Honey Roast Ham & Swiss Cheese Quiche
The ultimate ham and cheese quiche! There's crisp, flaky pastry, a creamy mustard & creme fraiche custard and plenty of honey roast ham and Swiss cheese.
Servings: 10 People
Equipment
- 9" Pie Dish
- Large Baking Tray
- Mixing Bowls
- Cheese Grater
- Rolling Pin
- Baking Beans/Rice
Ingredients
Pie Crust
- 220 g Plain Flour
- ½ tsp Table Salt
- 90 g Unsalted Butter (Cold & Diced)
- 60 g Lard (Cold & Diced)
- 30 g Ice Cold Water
- 1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Egg Yolk (For Blind Baking)
Quiche Filling
- 150 g Gruyere (Or Another Swiss Cheese)
- 130 g Honey Roast Ham (See Notes)
- 1 tsp Finely Chopped Thyme (See Notes)
- 300 g Creme Fraiche (Room Temperature)
- 4 Large Eggs (55g Each Out Of The Shell)
- 2 tsp Dijon Mustard
- ¼ tsp Fine Sea Salt
- ¼ tsp Smoked Paprika
- Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
- 150 g Double Cream
Instructions
Pie Crust
- Place the flour & salt into a mixing bowl, whisk together then add in the butter & lard. Rub the fats into the flour by hand until the mix resembles coarse breadcrumbs but with some larger chunks of fat still visible.Don't make the fats too small! The larger chunks are what makes the pie crust flaky.
- Add in the cold water & vinegar then mix by hand to make a rough dough.
- Tip the dough out onto a clean work surface & knead gently until smooth (be careful not to overwork the pastry) then flatten into a disc & wrap in clingfilm. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Rolling Out
- Take the pastry out of the fridge & leave to sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes. This makes the pastry more pliable & easier to roll out.
- Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured work surface into a disc that's around 4mm thick. For a 9" pie dish, your disc of pastry should be around 12" wide.Lightly dust the top of the pastry with flour as well, to stop your rolling pin from sticking! Don't use too much flour though as this can dry the pastry out.
- Carefully roll the pastry around your rolling pin then unroll into a 9" pie tin. Gently press the pastry into the tin, letting the excess pastry overhang the pie dish by a couple of centimetres. Use a pair of scissors to trim any excess pastry off if necessary.
- Next, take the overhanging pastry & tuck it underneath itself, so that the edge of the pie crust sits flush with the edge of the dish. We're looking to make a thicker crust around the edge so that we can crimp it.A small amount of the overhanging pastry might go down the inside edge of the pie dish as you fold it to form the crust. This is totally fine!
- Next, use your fingers or a fork to crimp the pastry along the edge of the pie dish. Chill the pie crust in the fridge for at least 2 hours before baking, or for up to 3 days. I went for a fluted edge for my quiche but crimp yours however you like!
Blind Baking
- Preheat an oven to 200°c/392°f (180°c/356°f fan). Place a large metal baking tray into the oven now as well, so that it can heat up. We'll be baking the pie crust on top of the tray, so that the base cooks properly.Make sure to give your oven & the tray plenty of time to fully saturate with heat. This is key to baking a crisp, flaky pie crust!
- Next, take a large piece of baking parchment, scrunch it up then place inside your pie crust. Fill the crust with baking beans (or uncooked rice) then place the pie dish onto the tray that's in the oven.
- Bake the pie crust for 20-25 minutes, until the edges are starting to turn a light golden brown. If you carefully lift the parchment up, the pastry shouldn't be stuck and should look dry on the surface.
- Next, carefully lift the baking parchment & baking beans out of the pie crust and set aside to cool. Then return the pie crust to the oven and bake for another 4-6 minutes, until the inside is a very light golden brown.
- Once baked, let the pastry cool for a couple of minutes then brush a thin layer of egg yolk over the bottom & sides (not the top edge!), to seal up any holes.
- Place the pie crust back into the oven then bake for another 30 seconds - 1 minutes to set the egg. Be careful not to over bake as the egg will scramble.
- Set the blind baked crust to one side whilst you prepare the filling. You'll also need to turn your oven down to 180°c/356°f (160°c/320°f fan).Turn the oven down as soon as the pie crust comes out! Keep the pie crust on the tray, as it will be easier to place back into the oven once it's filled.
Quiche Filling
- First, grate the cheese on the fine side of a box grater. Set 40 grams to one side, for sprinkling on top of the quiche. Place the remaining cheese into a mixing bowl.
- Cut the ham into 1cm cubes then add into the bowl with the cheese, along with the chopped thyme. Give this a stir to combine (I use my hands for this).
- Next, add the creme fraiche, eggs, mustard, salt & paprika into a separate mixing bowl. Season with a generous amount of freshly cracked black pepper then whisk to combine.
- Pour the cream into the eggs then whisk again, to incorporate. Be careful not to over whisk the custard though!
- Next, add the ham & cheese mix into the blind baked pie crust, making sure that the ham is well distributed then pour the custard over the top.
- Sprinkle the reserved grated cheese on top of the quiche then bake for 45-50 minutes, until the filling is set but with a slight wobble in the centre. Be careful not to over bake the filling!
- Once baked, let the quiche cool completely then refrigerate for at least 4 hours before cutting. For the cleanest slices, wipe your knife clean between cuts.
Notes
1. To Cook In An Aga - Par bake the pie crust on a grid shelf placed onto the floor of the roasting oven. To bake the quiche filling, cook in the baking oven, on the bottom set of runners.
2. Pie Crust - I'd highly recommend making your own pie crust for this quiche but a ready made one (the same size) will work too. I like to use raw rice for blind baking but ceramic baking beans will work as well.
3. Cheese - To ensure that the cheese melts properly, it's best to grate it on the fine side of a grater. I used Gruyere for my quiche but another Swiss cheese like Emmental will work as well. Or use a mature cheddar.
4. Ham - It's best to use thickly cut ham, so that you can chop it into cubes. If you've got leftover ham (like our sticky toffee ham), this would work really well!
5. Herbs - I added fresh thyme to my quiche but feel free to swap it out for rosemary, sage or oregano instead (dried or fresh). I'd recommend using half the amount of dried herbs if using instead of fresh.
6. Storage - Quiche needs to be stored in the fridge & is best eaten within 3 days of being made. You can also freeze baked & cooled quiche (whole or in slices) and it will keep for up to 3 months. Make sure to let the quiche defrost completely in the fridge before serving.
7. Reheating - In my opinion, quiche is best served warm! Though it's still good cold or at room temperature. The best way to reheat this quiche is to bake slices at 175°c/350°f for 10-15 minutes until hot. To serve at room temperature, let slices sit out of the fridge for 15-20 minutes before serving.
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