Onion Quiche

Quiche is the perfect dinner for those nights when everyone will be dining at different times. Delicious hot, it is also a terrific dish served cold and really, it couldn't be easier to prepare.

Typically, this would be made with either Swiss or Gruyere. I had neither so I substituted Bond Ost (A semi-soft Swedish cheese) with great success. In fact, I think I prefer it as the colour is so magnificent once baked.

I kept it simple and used my regular old pie crust recipe rather than messing around with shortcrust pastry. I did give the crust a pre-bake topped with a buttered piece of foil and weighted with beans. After nine minutes in a 400 degree oven, I removed the foil and beans and pricked the crust with a fork. Another nine minutes was perfect. You want the crust to just begin colouring and to pull slightly away from the side. The quiche will bake about 30 minutes in the oven, so use the remaining time as a guide. If your crust recipes usually bake 45 minutes, adapt as needed.

Once crust is pre-baked, begin preparing the onions, which will take another hour. All told, you'll need a couple hours, but not all of that time will be spent over the stove. The onions will only need a stir here and there in the hour.

You Will Need:

1 partially baked pastry crust

6 cups minced onions

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon dried thyme

2 eggs

2/3 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

dash of nutmeg

1 cup grated cheese (Swiss, Gruyere, Bond Ost, etc.)

1 tablespoon butter cut into small pieces for dotting top

Cook the onions in the butter and oil very slowly until they are quite soft and golden. In the last half, add the thyme.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place rack in upper third of oven.

Beat together the eggs and cream. Stir in the salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add half the cheese. Slowly, add the onions to the egg mixture, mixing well. Pour into pre-baked crust and top with remaining cheese. Dot with butter and bake 25-35 minutes or until it has puffed and is browned.