Quiche Lorraine

Fillet is a very lean cut of meat, but it’s incredible tender and rewarding to cook, if you treat it correctly. Stuffing it with something creamy is a clever way to make sure it doesn’t dry out.

1-1½ cups julienned leg ham or cooked gammon
1 onion
finely chopped 300g leeks
thinly sliced Large sprig of thyme
Large knob of butter
Salt and pepper
2 cups grated (500ml) Gruyère cheese
4 extra-large eggs
1 tablespoon (15ml) hot English mustard powder
1 tablespoon (15ml) Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons (30ml) chopped chives
1 cup (250ml) crème fraîche or sour cream PASTRY
½ cup (125ml) cream cheese
4⁄5 cup (200ml) soft butter
12⁄3 cup (410ml) flour plus extra for dusting
Large pinch of salt.

Place all the pastry ingredients in a food processor and pulse until they come together. Tip onto a floured surface and shape into a ball. Cover and rest in the fridge for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180˚C. Roll pastry out to 5mm thick and line a 25cm loose-bottomed quiche tin with it. Blind bake for 15 minutes, then remove and cool. Sauté the onion, leek and thyme in butter until soft. Season and leave to cool a little. Combine the onion mixture, ham or gammon and cheese and spoon into the tart shell. Whisk the eggs, mustards, chives and crème fraîche until well combined.Pour over the filling and shake to level it out. Bake at 180˚C for 30-40 minutes until just set. (A little wobble is what you are looking for.) Remove and serve warm or cooled.

Recipe info

Fillet is a very lean cut of meat, but it’s incredible tender and rewarding to cook, if you treat it correctly. Stuffing it with something creamy is a clever way to make sure it doesn’t dry out.