Preparing the quiche to be served later you have to bake 5 minutes less than prescribed till the moment when the filling is just set. Quiche is reheated at 190^◦C (350 ^◦F) for 5-7 minutes before serving.

Ingredients for the pastry

150 g plain (all purpose flour), sifted
5 tablespoon (75g) butter, cut into small pieces
1 egg
a pinch of salt

Ingredients for the filling (serves 2-4)

150 g lean smoked bacon
2 eggs
salt and black pepper, freshly milled
around 1/2 cup grated cheese to taste
150 g Сrème fraîche
a pinch of nutmeg

Method

To make the pastry, sieve the flour into a bowl and press out a hollow in the middle. Add a pinch of salt, 1 egg and cut butter into small pieces. Knead all the ingredients together until smooth shaping the pastry dough into a ball. Place in a plastic wrap and leave in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.

Roll out the dough on a clean lightly floured work surface to a thickness of at least about 3mm. Lightly butter a 18cm diameter quiche pan. Press the pastry gently into the sides and base of the tin trimming off the excess of the pastry. Prick the pastry base all over with a fork.

Preheat the oven to about 200 ^◦C (350 ^◦F). . Bake the pastry base of the quiche for about 10 minutes until golden brown before filling.

Meanwhile, cut the rind from the bacon and dice the bacon. Brown lightly in a pan. Beat remaining 2 eggs, stir in a creme fraiche and season with nutmeg and pepper. Add salt if necessary.

Spread the diced bacon on the pastry, sprinkle with grated cheese to taste, pour on the mixture of eggs and cream. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. When the filling is puffed up and golden brown, remove the quiche from the oven and top with small cubes of butter. Leave to stand for a few minutes before serving. Serve hot

Ratatouille

Ingredients (serves 4)

Preparation time - 10 min
Cooking time - 50 min

4 small zucchini, sliced
3 small eggplants, skinned and diced
2 red 2 green bell peppers, cut into pieces
4 ripe large tomatoes, peeled and divide into quarters
2 onions, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
6 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper, freshly milled
1 bouquet of garni: parsley, rosemary, marjoram, thyme, tarragon

Method

Prepare all vegetables. Slice the zucchini of 1 cm thick. Skin and dice the eggplants. Halve the bell peppers, remove the seeds and cut into pieces. Peel the tomatoes and divide them into quarters. Chop onions and garlic finely.

Preheat the oven to 180^◦C (350 ^◦F).

Heat the olive oil in a large ovenproof casserole. Cook onions until soft and lightly brown for about 2-3 minutes. Then add eggplants and bell peppers. Soon afterwards add the zucchini and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle on the chopped garlic.

Mix all the ingredients thoroughly but carefully. Place the bouquet garni on top and cover casserole. Place the covered pan in preheated oven to 180^◦C (350 ^◦F) and cook 50 minutes. Alternatively, allow to cook gently on the stove top over a low heat for 45-50 minutes.

Take the bouquet garni off and serve warm or hot.

Boeuf Bourgignon

Ingredients for 4 :

- 2 lbs. (1 kg) beef cut into chunks (not small cubes)

- 1 bottle of red wine (tip: use a reasonable quality full-bodied wine)

- 1 onion, chopped finely

- 5 chopped cloves of garlic

- 3 bay leaves

- 10 fresh green peppercorns (if you don’t have fresh green peppercorns, ground black pepper can be used instead)

- Olive oil

- ½ lb. (quarter kg) bacon in strips or cubes

- 20 pearl onions

- 5 medium sized carrots

- ¼ cup (70 ml) all purpose flour

- 1 tablespoon (17 ml) tomato paste

Directions:

Marinate the beef for at least 4 hours (best over night) in the red wine mixed with the chopped onion, garlic, bay leaves and fresh peppercorns.
Remove the meat from the marinade and dry with paper towel.
In a large pan:
- Fry bacon in oil until slightly browned. Place bacon in a large ovenproof casserole.
- Then brown the pearl onions and cubed carrots in the pan and add to casserole.
- Then brown the meat in the pan. Depending on the size of the pan (i.e. if it is not possible to fit all the meat into the pan), do the meat in batches and store the meat already browned temporarily in a large dish..
- When all the meat has been browned, put it all into the pan, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of flower and mix well while continuing to brown (approx. 5 minutes) then add bit by bit the red wine marinade including onions, garlic, bay leaves and fresh peppercorns and last but not least the tomato paste. Add to casserole and mix carefully with bacon and pearl onions.
Cook for 2 hours (or until tender) in oven at 180 Celsius (275 Fahrenheit).
Best served with spaetzle or boiled potatoes

Quiche Lorraine

Boeuf Bourgignon