Ham and Egg Quiche

Ham and eggs are definitely a never failed match. Same ingredients fall into different people's hands can have a completely different result! And French people show that they can use such ordinary ingredients to make an elegant cuisine.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Ham and Egg Quiche (text recipe)
// 中文版 //

- Serves: 3 people
- Special equipment: 23cm/9" loose bottom pie tin
- Preparation time: approx. 25 mins
- Cooking time: approx. 45 mins
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

/Ingredients/

Crust pastry
200g shredded ham
6 eggs
2 tablespoon chives
120ml cream
30g shredded mozzarella
salt and pepper
25g grated parmesan (optional)

/Directions/

Crust

Preheat oven to 180ºC / 355ºF. Grease the pie tin with melted butter.
Roll out the crust pastry to a 26cm x 26cm and 0.5mm thick square. Place the pastry sheet in the tin and trim off the excess part.
Place a piece of 26cm x 26cm square parchment paper on top of the pastry. Put ceramic pie weights or uncooked rice on top, and then bake for 10 minutes.
Remove the weights or rice and parchment paper. Bake for 7 more minutes.
Let the crust to sit in the tin to cool for at least 5 minutes.

Filling

Whisk 3 eggs in a large bowl. Stir in ham, chives, cream, mozzarella and mix well.
Add a pinch of salt and grated black pepper to taste.

To assemble

Spread the filling on the crust and add another 3 eggs on the filling.
Sprinkle the parmesan on top if used and bake for 20 minutes or until the egg is set.
Cool for 5 minutes before removing the tin. Bon appétit!

Adapted from: taste.com.au

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Ham and egg sandwich is always one of my favourite Hong Kong breakfasts. They are usually sold in local restaurants at a very reasonable price, so I've never thought that such day-to-day ingredients can also be fancy and elegant - and who doesn't like to be elegant and fancy every now and then?

Group A

Group B

The supermarkets my little town has no ready-rolled crust pastry. I always can't believe it because pies can be easily found in bakeries - surely crust pastry is a common ingredient in Germany? lol, apparently not. It's good though, because it has forced me to learn how to make a fresh one by myself. But it's absolutely not a problem if you want to use a ready-rolled crust pastry to save some time.

Roll out the crust pastry to a 26cm x 26cm and 0.5mm thick square. Place the pastry sheet in the tin and trim off the excess part .

Echos Tipp:
Place the tin on a large plate to keep the tin flat and also avoid any dripping later on - everyone prefers a clean oven! right?

Because the filling ingredients don't take as much time as the crust to cook, the crust has to be precooked first. Place a piece of 26cm x 26cm square parchment paper on top of the pastry. Put ceramic pie weights or uncooked rice on top, and then bake it in the preheated oven (180ºC / 355ºF) for 10 minutes. This avoids the bottom to 'grow up' when baking - some people just like trying to run before they can walk. Even Madam quiche! Remove the weights or rice and the parchment paper. Then bake for another 7 minutes. Cool the crust in the tin for 5 minutes.

When the crust is in the oven, you can start preparing the filling. To prepare the Group A ingredient, whisk the 3 eggs and then stir in the other ingredients. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste.

Echos Tipp:
Don't put in too much salt as the ham adds a salty taste to the filling already.

Spread the filling on the crust. If you pay attention, you can see there are three holes in the filling - don't worry I haven't gone crazy. Firstly, doing this allows you to choose and mark the ideal place for the egg yolks, which you will put on later, because they tend to slip away with the egg whites. Secondly, the quiche will be more elegant and fancy as the yolks won't stand tall on the filling - Beau!

Pour in the three eggs (ingredient Group B) in the spaces you made separately. If you are using large size eggs, the egg white could slip into the gap between the crust and the tin. Don't panic! They will be cooked although they may create some difficulties when you take the quiche out from the tin. Just be gentle and move slowly, then the shape of your quiche will stay beautiful.

Sprinkle the parmesan on top if you are using it. Try to avoid sprinkling too much on the yolks to let the yolks be more visible.

Echos Tipp:
You have only one take to make it right. So it's wiser to first crack one egg in a bowl and then pour it slowly into the hole - keeping Madam quiche fancy and elegant.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the egg is set. Let it to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before serving. Bon appétit!