Ginas Quiche Tartlets Recipes

MINI QUICHE LORRAINE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Arrange tart shells in 2 muffin tins; line shell each with a layer of pie weights or dried beans.
• Bake shells in the preheated oven until edges of crusts are lightly browned and about 75% cooked, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Place bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain bacon slices on paper towels; crumble when cooled.
• Divide 1 cup Swiss cheese, bacon, and green onions evenly into the tart shells.
• Whisk eggs, milk, mustard, salt, and black pepper together in a bowl. Ladle egg mixture into each tart shell about 2/3 full. Top each tart with the remaining 1/4 cup Swiss cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven until egg is set in the middle of each tart and shells are browned, 25 to 30 minutes.

BACON QUICHE TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 10 muffin cups.
• Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until crisp and evenly brown. Drain, crumble, and set aside.
• Place the cream cheese, milk, and eggs in a medium bowl, and beat until smooth with an electric mixer set on Low. Stir in Swiss cheese and green onion, and set aside.
• Separate dough into 10 biscuits. Press into the bottom and sides of each muffin cup, forming 1/4 inch rims. Sprinkle half of the bacon into the bottoms of the dough-lined muffin cups. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the cream cheese mixture into each cup.
• Bake 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until filling is set and rims of the tarts are golden brown. Sprinkle with the remaining bacon, and lightly press into the filling. Remove from pan, and serve warm.

QUICHE RECIPE

Steps:

• I like to make sure my pie dough is prepared before I begin the quiche. Make pie dough the night before because it needs to chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before rolling out and blind baking (next step).
• On a floured work surface, roll out one of the disks of chilled dough (use the 2nd pie crust for another recipe). Turn the dough about a quarter turn after every few rolls until you have a circle 12 inches in diameter. Carefully place the dough into a 9-inch pie dish. Tuck it in with your fingers, making sure it is completely smooth. To make a lovely edge, I do not trim excess dough around the edges. Instead, fold the excess dough back over the edge and use your hands to mold the edge into a rim around the pie. Crimp the edges with a fork or use your fingers to flute the edges. Chill the pie crust in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 5 days. Cover the pie crust with plastic wrap if chilling for longer than 30 minutes.
• While the crust is chilling, preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
• Line the chilled pie crust with parchment paper. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Make sure the weights are evenly distributed around the pie dish. Bake until the edges of the crust are starting to brown, about 15-16 minutes. Remove pie from the oven and carefully lift the parchment paper (with the weights) out of the pie. Prick holes all around the bottom crust with a fork. Return the pie crust to the oven. Bake until the bottom crust is just beginning to brown, about 7-8 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside. (Crust can still be warm when you pour in the filling. You can partially pre-bake the crust up to 3 days ahead of time. Cover cooled crust tightly and refrigerate until ready to fill.)
• Reduce oven temperature to 350°F (177°C).
• In a large bowl with a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs, whole milk, heavy cream, salt, and pepper together on high speed until completely combined, about 1 minute. Whisk in add-ins and then pour into crust.
• Bake the quiche until the center is just about set, about 45-55 minutes. Don't over-bake. Use a pie crust shield to prevent the pie crust edges from over-browning. Allow to cool for 15 minutes. Top with optional toppings before slicing and serving, if desired. Or you can cool the quiche completely before serving- it's fantastic at room temperature!
• This quiche makes great leftovers! Cover tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

SPINACH, RICOTTA & FETA QUICHE (SPANAKOPITA TART)

Steps:

• Place the flour, salt and butter in a bowl, rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, stir in the cheese, followed by the egg yolk (save the white to use later). Add enough ice water to bring the mixture together into a ball, wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for an hour.
• Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface to about the thickness of a pound coin and transfer it to a 25cm round tart tin. Press the pastry into the corners and leave the excess overhanging. Prick the base all over with a fork then place in the freezer for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5.
• Line the pastry case with baking parchment or tin foil, making sure there is some overhanging. Fill with baking beans, making sure that the sides are propped up then bake for 20 minutes. Remove the beans and parchment and brush the pastry all over with the reserved egg white. Return to the oven for a further 10 mins, until golden. Remove from the oven and use a very sharp serrated knife to trim off the excess pastry; set aside.
• To make the filling, defrost the spinach, place it in a sieve and press on it firmly to extract as much excess liquid as possible; finely chop it then tip into a large bowl. Mix in the ricotta, eggs and cream.
• Finely chop the spring onions and add to the bowl along with the parsley, dill, mint and garlic. Season well with salt and pepper and crumble in two thirds of the feta. Pour the mixture into the prepared pastry case and spread it level. Crumble over the remaining feta.
• Bake for 35-45 minutes, until set in the middle. Cover loosely with foil partway through baking if the top starts to colour too much.
• Allow to cool for about half an hour before serving.

GINA'S QUICHE TARTLETS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray 6 (4 1/2-inch) tartlet pans with nonstick spray.
• Roll out the pie dough. Using a 5-inch round cutter, punch out 6 circles of dough.
• Press each dough round into the prepared tartlet pans, making sure it covers the sides and bottoms. Bake until golden, 15 to 18 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly.
• Start on the filling while the crust is baking. Add the bacon to a medium saute pan over medium heat and cook until crisp. Add the green onions and garlic and saute until soft, 1 to 2 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat to cool.
• Lower the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Whisk together the eggs and half-and-half, and then stir in the bacon and green onion mixture. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Crumble the goat cheese into the baked shells.
• Ladle the mixture into the baked tartlet shells. Place the tartlet shells on a sheet tray (to catch drips) and bake until golden and cooked through, about 25 minutes.