Quiche - for real men

When I first started being responsible for myself, I started to cook and to understand that cooking was really just a science experiment - with a whole lot of luck and disasters thrown in.
 
One of the first things that I tackled as a new wife, was quiche.  In Australia, in the early 1980's, quiche (or egg and bacon pie) was only for 'poofta's*'.  Real Men Did Not Eat Quiche.  But they liked a good egg and bacon pie.  Mr K was not a poofter, well if he was he would not have married me, so I knew he was man enough to eat, and ultimately enjoy, quiche.
 

My first attempt at the French Quiche Lorraine was a unmitigated disaster.  Soggy yet at the same time crumbly pastry (took a lot of talent to manage that) egg mixture that had curdled and gone hard (again, how I got two opposing states in one glorious pie is any ones guess) and a watery ooze that really made the whole thing a dogs dinner (literally, the dog got to eat it and even she picked out the bits of bacon and turned her nose up at the rest)
 
Never one to admit defeat, I set about becoming the Queen of Quiche trying the Margaret Fulton recipe over and over again until I could proudly call myself Lorraine!  I have tweaked it and adapted this recipe until it made its way into my recipe book written in Biro (no less)!  It's been a staple meal over the years, always a good impromptu lunch, or dinner with a salad, or when I do mini quiches, catering for the masses.

 
I hadn't made one for ages, and had the urge a few weeks back to make one for lunch.  Tried a few tweaks of the old recipe and I like this one even more.  I have used my favorite Aussie cook, Maggie Beer's sour cream pastry recipe, which is very much like my own pastry I made up, except simpler.  Then a very basic egg and cream mix, add bacon, cheese and any vegies and you are done.  It turns out beautiful everytime, a great one to impress the girls at lunch.
 

 
Here is the original pastry recipe:
 
Maggie Beer - sour-cream-pastry-recipe

Pastry
 
125ml sour cream
250g plain flour
200g unsalted butter, chilled and cubed

Process in a food processor, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 30mins

I don't blind bake this, just roll it out, put into a pie tin (one with a removable base) then refrigerate until the filling is ready.  When I do bake it, I put the pie dish onto another heavy tray to help cook the bottom.

Cut up 250g packet of rindless bacon into thin slices.  Fry off until just cooked. 

Mix in a bowl -

6 free range eggs -please be kind to hens and use free range.
300ml cream
salt & pepper
chives and/or parsley

Grate -
100g Gruyere cheese or similar

Now assemble the pie.  Spread bacon on the uncooked pastry base.  Then the cheese.  Pour over egg/cream mix.

I sometimes add asparagus, or zucchini.

Bake for 10mins in 200 oven, then turn down to 180 and cook for further 30mins.  It should look cooked but still have a slight wobble.

Cool and serve with a salad.
 

 * No offence intended with this word, I am just using a colloquial term from the era when this was stated.