- 4 eggs
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 3/4 cup chopped ham
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1/3 cup minced chives
- Pepper
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 8 ounces shredded Swiss or sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/2 package frozen chopped spinach-thawed and squeezed of water
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
- 8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar (increase to 1 1/2 teaspoons if for a sweet recipe)
- 4 to 6 Tbsp ice water, very cold
Directions:
1. Cut the sticks of butter into 1/2-inch cubes and place in the freezer for 15 minutes so that they become thoroughly chilled.
2. In a food processor, combine flour & salt pulse to mix. Add butter and pulse 6 to 8 times, until mixture resembles coarse meal, with pea size pieces of butter. Add water 1 Tablespoon at a time, pulsing until mixture just begins to come together.
3. Remove dough from processor and place on a clean surface. Shape into a disc. Do not over-knead! You should still be able to see little bits of butter in the dough. Sprinkle the dough with a little flour on all sides. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least an 1 hour.
4. When ready, remove the crust from the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. Roll out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface to a 12 inch circle; about 1/8 of an inch thick. As you roll out the dough, make sure your dough is not sticking to the surface below. I use one of these, or you can also use parchment paper which works just as slick. Add a few sprinkles of flour if necessary to keep the dough from sticking. Gently fold in half. Place on your quiche pan or a 9-inch pie plate, lining up the fold with the center of the pan. Unfold and press down to line the pie dish with the dough.
I then weight my pie crust down with parchment paper and then beans and bake for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees. For me, I find that baking the crust before baking the quiche gives a more uniform flaky crust when the whole process is done.
And lastly, before I fill the crust with my pie filling I poke the bottom of the crust lightly with a fork, fill and bake!
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