Bacon and Onion Quiche

I never bother to bake the pastry blind, I find that in a fan oven the base of the pie comes out cooked through. It takes about 50 minutes to make from start to finish, less if you buy ready made pastry. And you can experiment with different fillings.

Ingredients for a 20cm base pie:
200 gr plain white flour
100 gr butter
good pinch of salt
a little milk

For the filling
3 eggs
500 ml milk
150 gr bacon, cut into thin strips
1 onion, sliced finely
150 gr grated cheese
salt and pepper, grated nutmeg
1 tomato to garnish

Make the pastry.
Put the flour in a bowl with a good pinch of salt, cut the butter into small dice and mix into the flour. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until the mix resembles fine crumbs. Add some milk, a tablespoon at a time, until the pastry comes together; do not overwork the pastry because you don’t want the gluten to develop and make the pastry rubbery. Wrap in a plastic bag or cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Take the pastry out of the fridge, roll it out on a floured surface, and line a well greased pie dish or plate.

To make the filling: turn the oven on at 180ºC
Gently fry the bacon and onion in a little butter for 5-6 minutes until the onion starts to brown. Spread over the pastry case. Sprinkle the cheese over the bacon and mushrooms.
Whisk the eggs with the milk; add salt, pepper and a good pinch of grated nutmeg. Pour the eggs over the cheese. Slice the tomato and arrange the slices over the custard.
Bake the pie in a moderate oven for 35-40 minutes. Do not worry if the custard looks wobbly when you take out of the oven, it will continue cooking for a few minutes. Serve warm or cold, with a green salad.