A beautiful and joyful celebration of summer, this Quiche Lorraine recipe uses the freshest farm-raised eggs, homegrown tomatoes and zucchini from Reilly Farms. It is a simple, favorite dish among the French who eat this lovely quiche for any meal of the day, but I made it for lunch. You will need 2 hours to make this delicious meal, and it will yield 8 servings. You will need a deep baking dish, about 16″ x 8″ or two 9″ pie pans. To make this recipe vegetarian, simply omit the bacon.

Ingredients for Crust:

2 1/4 cup flour (sifted)

2 sticks cold butter (cut into small cubes)

2 teaspoons salt

6-7 tbsp ice water

First, to prepare the pie dough, mix together the flour, cold cut butter, salt and ice water. I added some pork lard to substitute half of the butter.

Mix it all up with your hands thoroughly, until the butter and flour are well combined. The dough should not be crumbly, nor should it be sticky. It should be easily rolled into a ball once you are done kneading for approximately 5 minutes. Then, cover the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

Meanwhile, you can start making the filling.

Ingredients for Filling:

1/2 pound old fashioned bacon

1 yellow onion (diced)

8-10 whole cherry tomatoes

2 zucchini (diced)

8 fresh eggs

1/2 cup heavy cream

3-4 slices Swiss or Gruyere Cheese

Pinch of Thyme, Salt, & Pepper

Start by frying the bacon in a cast iron skillet, or buttered pan until golden brown. Then, take it out onto a paper towel leaving most of the melted fat in the skillet to be reused.

Next, fry the diced onion until tender and translucent.

Put the diced zucchini in with the onion and fry for another 3-4 minutes, or until edges start turning golden.

Whisk the 8 eggs together with the heavy cream, herbs and spices. Set aside while you prepare the baking dish by coating it completely in an oil of your choice. Preheat the oven to 425° F.

Once the dough is ready to be used after an hour in the refrigerator, roll it out on a floured surface so that it will cover the bottom of your baking dish. press the dough with your hands to distribute it onto the sides of the baking dish. Don’t worry if the dough does not fill the dish sides to the top as that is not necessary. just make sure that the bottom has no holes.

When the oven is ready, carefully place the dish with the dough in the oven to pre bake. Set a timer for 8 minutes.

Remove the prebaked crust from the oven and begin layering your ingredients starting with the bacon, tomatoes, zucchini and onion, followed by the egg mixture. On top, sprinkle the swiss cheese abundantly throughout the surface of the quiche. Now, return the baking dish to the oven and bake for another 40 minutes.

Now, here is the finished Summer Quiche Lorraine! You can garnish with some fresh parsley or green onions. Bon appetit!