Crustless Quiche - a base recipe

Oh, I do love a well-prepared egg. I renewed my cooking vows by working through an online class with Thomas Keller who reminds us the egg deserves to be silken - cooked gently and slowly. The results? Lovely.  Especially the creme brulee texture of quiche. In the last year, I've waltzed away from wheat (and maybe a few other grains) and so the no-crust version is a perfectly lovely choice for a weekly exploration. 

I really love the Bon Appetit version of quiche - it makes our morning menu on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Recently I've been modifying a bit to make Sunday mornings a bit more tasty as we dash out to church. So, a great challenge might be to take the basic recipe and play with different ingredients. Last Sunday I used leeks and shrimp and a rich Coastal Cheddar, a bit of goat cheese and a few tomatoes and roasted red peppers. (This one was topped with parmesan shavings and set under a broiler for a few minutes.) The possibilities!

Caveats: except when I'm making the bacon version and really following the recipe, I don't bring the half-and-half to the low simmer and then wait an hour because - we've gotta go! I use olive oil or butter, not lard. And, we eat it 15 or 20 minutes later rather than two hours later. We may forgo a bit of the creamy texture, but this is still not the more cottage cheesy breakfast casserole we've all enjoyed.

So, here's the Bon Appetit recipe, which is a flawless guide. If you want the full recipe you'll find it here. It's dreamy for sure.

Ingredients:

Filling and Assembly
8 ounces thick-cut smoked bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces
3 large shallots, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons lard or unsalted butter
2 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
3½ cups half-and-half
8 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons kosher salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
2 ounces Gruyère, finely grated

Cook bacon, shallots, lard, thyme, and bay leaf in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until lard begins to bubble, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low (mixture should still slowly bubble) and cook, stirring occasionally, until bacon and shallots are very soft, about 20 minutes. Let cool 1 hour. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve; pluck out thyme and bay leaf. Transfer bacon and shallots to a medium bowl; set aside.

Meanwhile, heat half-and-half in a medium saucepan over medium-high until it begins to bubble. Immediately remove from heat. Let cool 1 hour.

Place rack in middle of oven; preheat to 325°. Purée eggs in a blender on medium-high speed until foamy, about 30 seconds. Add half-and-half, salt, cayenne, and nutmeg. Beat on medium-low until custard is smooth, about 15 seconds.

Place baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle cheese evenly over bottom of the dish. Top with bacon mixture. Pour half of the custard into dish. Transfer quiche to oven, then carefully pour remaining custard into crust. Bake quiche until edges are set but center slightly wobbles, 55–75 minutes (it will continue to set after baking). Transfer to a wire rack and let cool at least 3 hours before slicing.