Yield: 6

Ingredients

Pastry

• 5-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound (454g) chilled lard
• (I use Tenderflake)
• 1 tbsp Vinegar
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• Ice water
• 1 egg white

Filling

• 6 oz ham, diced
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped
• 1/2 cup Gruyere cheese, grated (or cheddar, Swiss, or other mild cheese)
• 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup heavy cream (35%), or milk (to reduce the fat content)
• 1 onion, chopped finely and sautéed until translucent
• 2 pinches of black pepper, or to taste
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp butter

Preparation Procedure

Pastry

1. Mix together flour and salt
2. In a large bowl with a pastry blender or two knives, cut lard into flour and salt until particles are the size of small peas.
3. In a 1 cup measure, combine egg and vinegar. Add enough water to make 1 cup.
4. Gradually stir liquid into lard mixture. Add only enough water to make dough cling together.
5. Gather into a ball and divide into 6 portions. If desired, wrap unused portions and freeze.
6. Ideally, chill dough before rolling it out. Min 1 hour (I usually leave it overnight).
7. Flour your hands generously. Tilt the rolling pin and sprinkle it with flour as you rotate the rolling pin. On a lightly floured surface, roll one of the pastry disks 2 inches larger than an inverted quiche pan with a floured rolling pin. Try to control the rolling pin and move from the center out. Don't use the rolling pin to go back and forth. Use your rolling pin something like this: Roll North, pick up the pin, roll Northeast, pick up dough and move counter-clockwise, repeat. You want the crust as evenly rolled as you can.
8. Fold pastry into quarter folds and ease into quiche pan, pressing firmly against bottom and sides of quiche pan. Trim as needed.
9. Weight pastry or double pan it.
10. Blind bake crust for approximately 10 minutes at 400 degrees.  Remove weights. And bake until lightly browned.
11. Moisture proof the crust with a well-beaten egg white two to three minutes after it comes out of the oven.

Filling

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a bowl, beat eggs until frothy.
3. Add cream, salt, and pepper. Beat until mixed.
4. Melt tbsp butter over medium-high heat. Add ham and cook until browned. Remove ham and drain on paper towels.
5. To the fat remaining in the pan, add the onion and the thyme. Cook until onions are soft and translucent.
6. Scatter the gruyere cheese over the bottom of the quiche shell.
7. Scatter the ham and onion over the gruyere cheese.
8. Pour egg mixture over top and ensure that all the filling is coated.
9. Sprinkle top with Parmesan cheese.
10. Bake for 40-45 minutes.
11. Allow quiche to cool slightly before serving.