Author: Mainely Eating

Ingredients:
2 large vidalia onions – finely sliced (ideally on a mandolin)
1 small knob of butter
1/3lb of good-quality cooked ham (Nimon Ranch Jambon Royale or a Prosciutto Cotto Italian ham works well) – chopped into bite-size pieces
Small bunch of chives (or parsley)
1 package of Gruyere cheese (usually ~6oz) – grated
3 large whole eggs and 2 egg yolks
1/2 cup + heavy cream
2 tbsp mascapone (substitute with an extra glug or two of heavy cream if you can’t find either)
Salt & pepper
A deep dish pastry crust from the freezer (defrost) or make your own pastry case

Directions:

1. Start with the caramelized onions as they take the longest time. Over a low heat, cook the finely sliced onions in a little butter and olive oil with salt and pepper. Don’t rush this. You want the onions to really caramelize vs. char so expect them to cook for a good 60-90 minutes. The fluffy white pile of onion ribbons will reduce down to a sad looking tangle but will taste oh-so-good.
2. Pop a store-bought (defrosted if frozen) pie crust into a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes, you’re just looking to partially cook it. Ideally you’ll “blind bake” it (put a piece of parchment paper in the base and weigh it down with beans or rice to stop the dough from rising up) or if you’re lazy just poke it a few times with a fork.
3. Mix the 3 whole eggs, 2 egg yolks, heavy cream, mascapone and chives. Season liberally.
4. Add the caramelized onions to the bottom of the partially cooked pastry case.
5. Top with half of the grated gruyere cheese.
6. Follow with a layer of chopped ham.
7. Add the rest of the cheese.
8. Pour over the egg/cream/mascapone mixture.
   It helps to poke a fork around as you add the egg mixture, this ensures the mixture sinks all the way to the bottom (through the cheese, ham and onion layers) and there are no hidden air pockets. Don’t overfill as the eggs will rise up a little during baking and you don’t want your quiche to overflow.
9. Lower the oven to 325 degrees F and bake for ~40-60 minutes (use a skewer/cake test/toothpick to check the interior isn’t still super runny). If the edges of the pastry are getting too brown/burned halfway through cooking then wrap them in a little aluminum collar (top right picture). You want a tiny tiny bit of wiggle/jiggle when you shake the quiche as it’ll keep cooking once you remove it from the oven. The exact cooking time will depend on your oven, it takes ~40 minutes at our home in Maine but closer to an hour at my Mom’s house.
10. Let the quiche rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing. Enjoy straight away or keep in the fridge for hungry guests for 3-4 days (but it probably won’t last that long!)