Bacon and Onion Quiche

November 2010 - Bacon, my Jewish friends tell me bacon is the one pork product that has either caused or could cause them to break with kosher. Pork, for my part, is part of my nutritional heritage as a descendent to the Gauls (I base this on the historically accurate documents about a small village that resisted the Romans, chronicled in the works titled "Astérix le Gaulois"). In spite of this, it is also one of the meats that, in my current financially precarious state, I will only buy free range or organic, and have waited with bated breath for the time the happy porker farmers come to the local farmer's market so that I can purchase a few choice packets. As luck would have it, happy pigs are more readily available that I thought, for the local Capers-slash-Whole Foods market carries bacon from happy, outdoor pigs from a local producer. As happy as I am to have discovered this bacon, I nevertheless use it judiciously - its flavour is so strong that it tends to overpower anything else in the dish, which is why I use it primarily as 'lardons' when making hearty winter stews. But for some reason I wanted to make a quiche with bacon and gruyère. After looking around at other recipes, I decided to throw in some onion and dijon mustard as well. And I'm quite pleased with the result - a nice balance of flavours for a warming winter dish where the bacon plays a part in the society of flavours instead of being a corporate raider.

1 blind baked pie crust, completely cooled

3 slices bacon (thick slices, if thin adjust the quantity accordingly)

1 large onion, sliced into rounds

1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 garlic clove, minced

Salt

Fresh ground black pepper

3 large eggs

½ cup heavy cream

½ cup milk

2 tsps Dijon mustard

¾ cup Gruyère cheese, grated

1. Prepare the blind-baked pie crust. Allow to cool completely before using to allow the crust to set.
2. Preheat oven to 375°F.
3. Chop bacon into lardons (cut bacon into paper-clip sized pieces). Cook the lardons in a big skillet until semi crisp.
4. Remove all but 1 Tbsp. of the bacon fat (to save in use in other recipes) from the skillet and heat over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and cook until the onions are soft and start to brown. At this point, add the parsley and garlic, and cook 1 more minute.
5. Once the bacon has cooled a bit, chop into smaller pieces, and combine with the onion mixture.
6. In a bowl, whisk the eggs until light. Stir in dairy and mustard and whisk again to combine. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
7. In the pre-baked pie shell, sprinkle the cheese on the bottom, then the onion and bacon mixture, and finally smother it all with the egg mixture.
8. Bake the quiche until it's all puffed and golden brown and joyful, about 35 minutes.
9. Serve warm or at room temperature.