The best cheese & onion quiche by Ina Paarman recipe (2024)

Cheese Pastry

• 250 g flour
• pinch of cayenne
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp chopped herbs rosemary & thyme – optional
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 150 gm Kerrygold butter
• 1 cup 100g grated Kerrygold 24 month mature Cheddar
• 1 egg yolk
• ¼ cup cold water

Cheese & onion quiche filling

• 2 large brown onions chopped
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp Kerrygold butter
• 1 – 2 cloves garlic crushed
• 2 large free-range eggs
• ½ cup crème fraiche
• ½ cup milk
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp ground white or black pepper
• 1 cup grated 24 months mature Kerrygold Cheddar

• Preheat the oven to 180C / 350 F.

• You can make this by hand using a pastry cutter or in a food processor.

• Sift the flour and add this to the bowl of the food processor with the salt and cayenne and give it a 3-second mix.

• Add the rest of the ingredients except the water and process briefly until just blended.

• Add the cold water while the motor is running and until the mixture just comes together into a dough. Tip this onto a well-floured surface and knead briefly to form a ball of dough.

• Roll this out to about 3mm thick and line the base of a 25cm quiche tin (this will be a little over half the dough). Allow some of the dough to hang over the sides and then trim. It will shrink back during baking. Prick the surface area of the pastry with a fork.

• Blind bake the pastry case by scrunching up a piece of baking paper and then placing this on top of the pastry. The scrunching makes it easier to reach into the corners. Fill the case with any dried bean, rice or pasta (or pastry beans if you have these) and then bake for 10 minutes.

• Remove from the oven and remove the paper and filling. Return the pan to the oven and bake for a further 5 – 8 minutes until it has crisped up and starts turning a golden brown.

• While the pastry is baking blind, make your filling for the quiche.

• Heat the butter and olive in a non-stick frying pan and once it starts bubbling add the onion and sauté them for about 10 minutes over low heat and until the onions are soft but not brown. Do not caramelize them. Add the garlic and set aside

• In a bowl whisk the eggs with the crème Fraiche, milk and spices.

• When the pastry comes out of the oven, sprinkle ¾ of the cheese across the base then spread the onion mix on top of that. Gently pour over the egg mixture and finally sprinkle the remaining cheese over the quiche.

• Bake for 35 minutes until golden brown and firm.

Put the filled quiche onto a larger baking sheet in case there are any spills.

Quiche can be eaten cold or at room temperature. serve with a green salad to make a perfect light lunch.