When is a quiche a tart?

Quiches used to have rather a bad rap. My father refused to have them on principle and there is the famous comment “Real men don't eat quiche". The phrase comes from Bruce Feirstein's 1982 bestselling satirical book of the same title which took a humorous look at traditional masculinity and mocked the idea that eating a savoury egg tart was somehow unmanly. Feirstein also wrote the scripts for James Bond films “Goldeneye”, “Tomorrow Never Dies”, “The World is Not Enough” which ironically are possibly full of traditional masculinity. 

For many, the mere mention of the word quiche recalls a sort of claggy, soggy-bottomed specimen filled with some custard-like substance. So, to re-sell the concept to my own family and friends, I sometimes market it as a savoury variety of tart. However, while all quiches are tarts, not all tarts are quiches. The key difference lies in the filling - a quiche always contains an egg-and-cream ‘custard’ which is baked. 

The most well-known version is Quiche Lorraine. It is thought to have been created some 400 years ago in Nancy, the second largest city in Lorraine, France, when monks were trying to use up egg yolks.  Apart from the eggs, cream and pastry base, it only contained lardons or bacon. 

However, the name may well have come from the German “kuchen”, a term used for similar dishes. “Kuchen” may be translated as cake but actually implies a much broader range of dishes and is typically less "decorative" in nature and could include what we might call a pie. Lorraine at this point in time was in any case more German than French - it was part of the Lotharingia Kingdom and was not part of France until 1737. 

Naturally the English think they invented custard as it is reported as served at banquets given by Henry IV in the 1300’s whilst Queen Elizabeth I was thought to love the tarts so much that especially large tarts were created for her and her parties. However, the Portuguese egg tart named Pasteis de Nata claims to have been created in the 13th Century by monks. 

A good quiche needs a little attention to make one really well and most of us add cheese- a strong Swiss cheese for example. The Famous French chef August Escoffier recommended lining the pastry case with bacon and strips of gruyere before adding the cream and egg mixture.

 I produce a cooking video every other week to share in Friends of Highclere and I have just made a quiche. I tend to make it with short crust pastry, baked blind and in this instance, apart from the custard, I sprinkled some spinach over the base, a little roquefort, poured in the custard and carefully placed precooked pear in a circle around the top. I have to say it was entirely scrummy. 
"Life happens, quiche helps."

Pear and Roquefort Quiche

Serving size: up 6 | Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 30 mins

Ingredients
3 eggs
2 egg yolks
250ml Double cream
50g Baby spinach, black pepper
A touch of sea salt 
75gm Roquefort cheese
Fresh ground black pepper
Butter, to grease the dish
2 pears, poached, cored and sliced 
One sheet of shortcrust pastry which has been rolled out and blind baked in a circular ovenproof dish  

Directions
Whisk the eggs in a bowl and add the cream, salt and pepper to taste and mix well.
Wilt the spinach quickly in a pan with a touch of oil. Remove and pat dry on paper towel.
Poach the pears in red wine or just plain water (to taste).
 Arrange the spinach at the bottom of the oven proof dish.
Scatter crumbled roquefort over the spinach.
Pour in the egg mixture and arrange the pears on top, top with the remaining cheese
Place in a pre-heated oven at 175°c and cook for 30-35 minutes until a light golden brown and the egg mixture is cooked through.
Let it cool for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Notes
The quiche should be wobble slightly when cooked but not be runny.