boursin and bacon quiche.
Sprinkling Boursin cheese into a fluffy, eggy quiche makes it both unbelievably creamy and effortlessly flavorful. Crispy bacon pieces compliment the herb-packed cheesy quiche, offering a full breakfast on one plate.
Serves: 8 slices Prep time: 45 minutes Cook Time: 1 hour
I was a quiche hater for a long time for virtually no reason at all. I’m not even sure when I had a quiche that made me hate them so much — I think it was simply the idea of an egg pie that turned me off.
That all changed when I started working for Luna Bakery. If you didn’t know already, I worked in the bakery as a super-assistant (read: bumbling idiot), essentially for the purpose of learning to bake. It was one of the best experiences of my life and something I’d recommend to anyone interested in food, especially baking, and especially if you hate it. I learned to love the art of baking — and most of all, the music of the kitchen.
I also learned to love quiche. Every Friday, the head baker would make three painstakingly large, deep-dish quiche from scratch. All different flavors, of course, and filled to the brim with eggs and cheese. It was an all-day process and a total mystery to me until I finally — a year and a half in — tried the quiche.
My god, why had I never experienced breakfast this way before?
I am pretty adamant that quiche is best made deep dish in a great big springform pan, but I’m also realistic about how much effort most people would really want to put into a quiche. Deep dish quiche is, at minimum, an all-day affair. A shallow quiche can be whipped up pretty quickly.
They’re actually made the same way, but a deep-dish quiche is at least double, if not triple, the ingredients and time. It’s a gazillion times more fluffy, though, so if you’re looking to impress… make it deep dish. And most of all, make it from scratch.
Must I make quiche crust from scratch?
Of course not, but if you are serving this to guests, you should. A store-bought pie crust isn’t going to have the same rich, buttery flavor, and your guests will notice the difference.
Day to day you might not care as much about whether a crust is buttery or not. If that’s the case, shave 40-some minutes off of the recipe by using a store-bought crust.
If you can plan ahead, make the crust in advance and either chill or freeze it until you’re ready to quiche.
What should quiche look like when done?
Possibly the hardest part of making quiche is knowing when it’s done. At the bakery, our head baker intuitively knew when it was time, and eventually I had a pretty good sense of what to look for, too. First, the shell: It should be golden brown all over, especially on the bottom. Since it will be filled with beans you’ll mostly have to guess. Generally if the tops are pretty browned, you’ll be fine.
For the egg custard, there’s a few things to look for. The egg will puff up like a soufflé and stay that way until completely removed from the heat. In most quiche, the cheese will brown, another indication that the filling is cooked. The boursin in this recipe won’t brown, so instead look at the egg alone. The filling should be firm, but jiggly — but not liquidy or wet. This may take some practice to see the difference, but when you know, you’ll know.
You can also simply temp it with an instant-read thermometer. The middle of the quiche should read between 165 and 175 F — I’d go a bit lower assuming that the eggs will cook a bit longer in residual heat. Plus, I prefer a softer custard.
boursin and bacon quiche ingredients
flour: All purpose, nothing fancy here. I haven’t tested pie crust with anything else, though I’m sure you can find alternatives on the internet for gluten free and whole wheat (I don’t want to suggest any without having tested them myself).
butter: I always use unsalted, though either would work. Prepare the flour, sugar, and salt, then take the butter straight from the fridge and slice it. It needs to be cold, so don’t let it sit around.
sugar: You could skip this, but its a minimal amount that aids in browning — try not to skip the sugar.
salt: Just a little bit to enhance flavors in both the crust and the custard.
bacon: I’d just use plain bacon here, no fancy flavors, and it doesn’t matter whether it is thick cut or pathetically thin. You’ll be dicing the bacon, crisping it slightly, and adding it to the filling, so in the end the thickness won’t matter. Use a few strips of your favorite bacon.
eggs: The type of egg does not matter, but size-wise, use large. Medium won’t be quite enough and jumbo will likely be too much.
heavy cream: Some people prefer milk or half and half in their filling, I love the richness of heavy cream. I think it sets up really beautifully without being dense. You can sub half whole milk if you need or want to.
Boursin cheese: This is, of course, the ingredient the recipe is based around and shouldn’t be substituted unless you are making a totally different quiche. I use the green box of Boursin — I think it tastes far better than the others, but you can use any of them you love. Pro tip; buying them at Costco saves you almost $10 if you use them regularly.
chives: Technically optional, but will add a nice herby flavor. You can also add more on top if you really love chives. You can substitute scallions, but don’t use more than about a tablespoon of finely chopped pieces.
This is how the dough should start. Make sure the butter is very cold and cubed into 1/2-inch pieces.
This is about where your dough should end up before kneading; watch it carefully or the weight of the dough will knock your food processor off of the base (Yes, really). You can always stop it a little early, just make sure it's a solid, dough-like mixture that you can knead.
boursin and bacon quiche pairing options
I love making quiche on a Sunday so that I can have a quick, full breakfast on weekdays. This is especially great if you tend to rush around in the morning and need something that’s ready in 30 seconds. Think of it like egg bites, but you need a fork to eat it. If you are serving this in a less-rushed fashion, here are some ideas to serve alongside:
Fruit salad, with grapes, blueberries, apples, and a lemon-sugar dressing
Yogurt, granola, honey, and chocolate parfaits
Crispy breakfast potatoes (Use the bacon fat from this recipe!)
Hash browns, Mcdonald’s-style
Lox, créme fraîche, capers, and bagels
Roasted cherry tomatoes
Ham and cheese croissants
Sausage links, for those who like extra meaty breakfast (Like me)
Chili crisp, for topping
Dice up the bacon and cook until crispy -- you could go a little darker than this, but I wouldn't go super-crispy on these -- just enough to have a crunch.
The weights (or beans) prevent the crust from shrinking inwards or puffing up. Pro tip: Put parchment down for easy bean-removal.
Fill the quiche up to just below the top -- the egg custard will rise as it bakes. Place on a sheet tray to avoid spilling.
