A quiche hot out of the oven, a salad, and a cool bottle of white wine—there's the perfect light meal. Baked in an open-faced pastry shell, the quiche is really just a custard in fancy dress, a mixture of eggs and flavorings. Quick to assemble and practically foolproof, it requires an expert hand only for its crust. And if you've been having troubles with pastry dough, give this recipe a whirl in your electric mixer.

Ingredients:

  • 6 to 8 pieces thick-sliced bacon
  • An 8-inch partially cooked pastry shell placed on a buttered baking sheet
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • Pinch of pepper and nutmeg
  • 1 tablespoon butter

Directions:

  1. Preheat Oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Slice bacon into ¼ inch pieces and brown lightly in a frying pan; drain and spread in bottom of pastry shell. Beat eggs, cream, and seasonings in a bowl to blend.
  3. Just before baking, pour cream mixture into the shell, filling to within 1/8 inch of the top. Cut butter into bits and distribute over the cream.
  4. Bake in upper third of oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until quiche has puffed and browned, and a small knife, plunged into custard, comes out clean. Serve hot, warm, or cold; quiche will sink slightly as it cools.

Serves 4 to 6

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In 1961, as a recent graduate of the Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris, Julia Child co-authored the book Mastering the Art of French Cooking and launched her career of educating Americans in delicious ways with food. In 1963 she began her own cooking show The French Chef, produced at WGBH. This recipe was published in The French Chef Cookbook*.

Watch these newly digitized episodes from the first year of The French Chef (1963) and learn more about Julia Child's life and career here.

*THE FRENCH CHEF COOKBOOK by Julia Child, copyright © 1968 by Julia Child. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc. For online information about other Random House, Inc. books and authors, see the Internet Web Site at randomhouse.com.