This classic French dish is famed for its simplicity and elegance. Crispy bacon with gooey cheese, soft silky egg surrounded by a crunchy base. Quiche Lorraine has it all. For me personally, there is nothing better on a rainy day than the smell of buttery pastry cooking in the oven and that wonderful moment your fork cracks through the outer crust and hits the billowy centre. The hardest part is waiting for it to cool down before you’re able to devour it!

This dish is great for any meal. I think it's perfect for serving as part of a grazing-style lunch but also an easy go-to if you're planning a picnic due to the fact it also tastes great cold. Do yourself a favour and take an extra few minutes and go to the effort of making your own pastry. You won't regret it, especially if you own a food processor, as it's super easy. It's just some flour, butter, egg yolk, water, and hey presto: magically, a ball of soft dough ready for baking appears. Then simply rest, roll, prick and blind bake. Your kitchen will smell divine, and what's more, you'll now have the basics down for all sorts of savoury tarts.

Did you know? 'Quiche' originally derives from the German word 'Kuchen', which means cake. The French later put their spin on it and renamed the tart Lorraine. This is because, geographically, the Lorraine region hugs the border between France and Germany. 

Whilst returning by bus to England from the Black Forest in the south of Germany via Paris, I was travelling on a night bus, and as usual, we'd pulled into a large roadside petrol station to refuel. This stop was on the outskirts of a small city called Metz in France, just over the border from Germany, in a region called Lorraine. I hear the familiar hiss of the front doors open "30 minutes", says the driver in his gruff voice with typical German efficiency. Like lemmings, we all file down the aisle of the bus and head into the night. The cold air hits me like a slap in the face, my breath instantly becoming a fog. I shiver and pull up my hood stepping into the light rain, the warm glow from the service station beckoning us like moths to a flame. 

Inside is a cafeteria-like the ones you see at Ikea. I grab a plastic tray and place it on the rail that is designed to slide along as you pass each food item to choose from. First up is a watery grey soup with some sort of bread-like dumplings floating on top. Pass. Next is some dry pasta lightly covered with what looks like tinned corned beef. Pass. Next is potatoes in a heavy buttery cream. Pass. Next, I see there is an empty tray and lastly is dessert, some fluorescent green and bright red jelly in plastic cups with cream on top. I gulp, disheartened. I can't eat any of that, can I? I think to myself. Then like an angel from heaven, I see my saving grace. They're heading towards the empty tray, is an elderly lady in a hairnet carrying a tray of what looks like freshly baked Quiche Lorraine!  

 "Merci mademoiselle", I say cheekily as I grab two serves, which elicits a quick smile. I pay, and when I sit down to eat the flaky crust with soft cheesy goodness, I'm suddenly full of gratitude, as I realise I had just found the diamond in the rough. 

Chef Dylan tips: Chop the butter into cubes, then place it back into the fridge to harden up. Head to YouTube and watch a video on how to roll out the pastry and place it into a tart base.

Serves 6 
 Prep 30mins
 Cook time 1 hr.

Ingredients
- For the pastry
- 175g plain flour
- 100g cold butter, cut into 1cm cubes
- 1 egg yolk
- 3 tbs very cold water
- For the filling
- 200g bacon, cut into strips
- 125g gruyère or tasty cheesy
- 300 mls thickened cream
- 4 eggs
- 1 tbs Gaucho*
*Chef Dylan's Gourmet Food Co. Gaucho marinade

Method
1. For the dough, put 175g plain flour, 100g cold butter, cut into pieces, 1 egg yolk and 3 tsp cold water into a food processor. Using the pulse button, process until the dough just comes together. Take it out and pat it into a disc sphere shape. Wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate for 1 hr.+
2. Place the dough onto a lightly floured benchtop, then roll out about 1/2 cm thick. Make sure you don't let it stick to the benchtop.
3. Line a 23 x 2.5cm loose-bottomed, fluted tart base, easing the pastry into the base.
4. Trim the pastry edges with a knife or scissors (save any trimmings), so it sits slightly above the tin (1/2 cm, so if it shrinks, it shouldn't now go below the level of the tin). Press the pastry into the flutes, lightly prick the base with a fork, then chill for 10 mins in the fridge.
5. Put a baking tray in the oven and heat the oven to 200°C (fan-forced). 
6. Line pastry tin with foil, shiny side down, fill with ceramic pastry weights or dry beans and bake on the tray for 15 mins.
7. Remove foil and weights and bake for 4-5 mins more until the pastry is pale golden. If you notice any small holes or cracks, patch them up with pastry trimmings.
8. While the pastry cooks, prepare the filling. Heat a small frying pan, cook the bacon crispy but not too crispy.
9. Cut three quarters of the 125g gruyère or tasty cheese into small cubes and finely grate the rest. Scatter the diced gruyère/tasty cheese and fried bacon strips over the bottom of the pastry case.
10. In a bowl using a fork, whisk in 4 eggs. Add cream and whisk to combine.
11. Gently pour three-quarters of the filling into the pastry case.
12. Half-pull the oven shelf out and put the tart tin on the baking tray. Quickly pour the rest of the filling into the pastry case (you can fill it right to the top doing it this way). 
13. Scatter the grated cheese over the top, and sprinkle on the Gaucho dry marinade seasoning, then carefully push the shelf back into the oven.
14. Lower the oven to 190°C/fan. Bake for about 25 mins, or until golden and softly set (the centre should not feel too firm).
15. Let the quiche settle for 4-5 mins, then remove from the tin. Serve freshly baked or eat cold if there is any leftover!