Bero Recipes Quiche Lorraine

Someone recently asked me when my love for the kitchen began. It made me think back on a million different cooking/baking memories and my very first ones all involve a certain recipe book:

Myself and my mum would use this book at least once a week to make treats for the rest of the family and I loved it. I tried to get her to part with the book when I moved out but it wasn’t going to happen .. I didn’t think for one minute that the book was still being printed until I spotted one on a random shopping trip a few months ago. I was so excited! I think this book definitely helped to develop a love for baking.

I mentioned this on twitter and on the Britmums forum and it seems a lot of us grew up with Be-Ro and it was interesting to read peoples memories of the book and also the favourite recipes of the people who like me are now using it on a regular basis:

Ultimate Quiche Lorraine Recipe

Lisa Burns also from Britmums (40s chic) remembers a battered, torn Be ro book and cooking from it each week with her mum. Like me she recently bought an updated version and uses it a lot.

Cheese straws – beautiful cheesy flakey pastry. I made these for Izzys 1st birthday party and they went down so well that I have no pics. Sorry!

Victoria sandwich and milk chocolate icing – I used the basic recipes for these items in the book before adapting to make a layered chocolate orange cake for a local MacMillan coffee morning. It was delicious.

Green Asparagus Quiche Recipe

I’ve also made rich biscuits and chocolate eclairs amongst other things and am looking forward to working my way through the book.

Next on my list is the Australian Crunchie as its one of the only things I don’t remember trying when I was younger. I’ll let you know how it goes.

I’m excited to teach Izzy how to cook using this book as she gets older and who knows maybe she will pass it onto her children. 🙂When you work in an office with a high percentage of women (as I have done) you often have to listen to tedious conversations about dieting. And many times I have overheard diet bores slapping themselves on the back because they have had “

Quiche Lorraine With Homemade Crust For Breakfast Or Dinner

For lunch. This is pretty funny because there are few dishes which contain quite so much fat (pastry, eggs, bacon, cream!!!). But for some reason quiche seems to retain an image of ‘lightness’ and ‘femininity’.

Calories aside, I have never bee a fan of quiche because I think eggs and cheese mixed together is the devil’s work. Even the smell makes me want to vomit. And memories of being forced to eat my primary school’s ghastly ‘cheese and egg flan’ have never quite left me.

I recently read however that a classic Quiche Lorraine should never have cheese in it (yes, yes, it was Elizabeth David again but I’m not obsessed, honest). Hurrah I thought and quickly googled for a recipe without cheese.

Quiche Lorraine (bacon And Swiss Cheese) Recipe

The filling for this recipe is very straight forward and comes from Felicity Cloake (attempting to create the ‘perfect’ quiche Lorraine for the Guardian). The shortcrust pastry recipe is from my trusty Be-Ro book. I couldn’t help myself and added a little caramelised onion to the mix – but this is not ‘the done thing’ – Elizabeth would not approve.

I found that I could happily eat quiche made this way. And my husband, who has a very feminine palate, (he loves cappuccinos, chocolate and yoghurt) thought it was wonderful.

To make the pastry measure the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add the margarine and then rub together with the flour until you have a mix the consistency of fine breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over the 3 tablespoons of milk and with a knife stir until well incorporated. Then, using your hands, bring the mixture together lightly to form a ball. Knead very gently a couple of times until smooth. Press the ball down roughly to form a thick flat circle, place in a plastic bag and allow to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Easy Cheese And Onion Quiche

Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll out with a rolling pin until it is big enough to line a 23 cm tart tin. Prick the bottom with a fork all over and trim the edges. You need to make sure there are no cracks in your pastry (because otherwise the filling will seep out) but if you have some don’t worry – just patch up the holes/cracks with pastry left over from trimming the edges. Don’t worry if it looks a bit messy. Put a square of baking parchment over the surface of the pastry and fill with baking beads.

Bake the pastry case in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove the beads and the baking paper and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes. Finally brush the bottom with a thin layer of egg white (apparently this helps to avoid a soggy bottom) and pop back in the oven for another 3 minutes. Set the case aside while you prepare the filling.

OPTIONAL: Fry a large onion (or two smaller ones) gently in a little olive oil or butter for about 15 minutes until soft and caramelised. Spread over the base.

Be Ro |

Fry the bacon until browned but not too crisp. Drain on kitchen towel and spread half over the onion or (if you’re not using onion) over the base.

Put the cream and the eggs and yolks into a large bowl with a generous pinch of salt and some pepper. Beat together slowly until combined and then give the mix a fast whisk until frothy. Pour over the base to fill and then sprinkle over the rest of the bacon.

Bake for 20 minutes. The centre should still be a little bit wobbly if you like a creamy texture. If you prefer a denser texture then cook for 5-10 minutes longer.

The Overlooked Onion

This is my kind of recipe. It comes from my trusty Be-Ro cookbook (which I’ve been using for over 30 years) and is possibly the simplest biscuit recipe ever. If you’ve never really baked before then this is a great starting point. And I promise that you CAN find the time to give these a go because they take just 5 minutes to make and 15 minutes in the oven (during which time you can empty the dishwasher, check your emails, read your child a story etc, etc).

I wouldn’t describe these biscuits as a taste sensation but they do make a perfectly nice everyday biscuit and have a wholesome taste (because of the oatmeal) which is similar to a Hobnob.

My husband and son don’t think biscuits are worthwhile unless chocolate is involved so, if I’m feeling generous, I’ll drizzle over some melted dark chocolate (which I put in the fridge to harden) or just smear on some chocolate spread.

Basic Quiche Recipe