← Nouns Cooking · French

Ingredients

• 200 g Plain (all-purpose) flour
• 1 pinch Salt
• 100 g cold butter, diced
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tbsp ice-cold water
• 200 g smoked bacon lardons
• 4 large eggs
• 300 ml double (heavy) cream
• 150 ml Milk
• 125 g Gruyère, finely grated
• 1 pinch Nutmeg, freshly grated
• Black pepper

Method

1. Rub the flour, salt and butter together with your fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs. Mix in the yolk and enough cold water to bring it together, then flatten into a disc, wrap and chill for 30 min.
2. Heat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan, 375°F). Roll out the pastry and line a 23–24 cm loose-bottomed tart tin, letting the excess hang over the edge. Prick the base, line with baking paper and fill with baking beans or rice.
3. Bake for 15 min, then lift out the paper and beans and bake for 5–8 min more, until the base looks dry and pale golden. Trim the overhanging pastry with a sharp knife. Turn the oven down to 160°C (140°C fan, 320°F).
4. Meanwhile, fry the bacon in a dry pan over medium heat for 5–6 min until golden, then drain on kitchen paper. Whisk the eggs, cream, milk, nutmeg and plenty of pepper together; the bacon and cheese bring enough salt.
5. Scatter the bacon and most of the Gruyère over the pastry, then pour in the custard and top with the rest of the cheese.
6. Bake for 30–35 min, until puffed and golden with a slight wobble in the very centre. Leave to cool for 15 min before slicing; it sets as it cools. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Tips

• Slide the oven shelf out and pour the custard in with the tin already on it, to avoid spills.
• Shop-bought shortcrust saves time; you will need about 320 g.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

BBC Good Food RecipeTin Eats