Pears and Fontina Quiche

The mouth starts watering just mentioning the ingredients of this scrumptious delicacy, which cleverly combines ease of preparation with true gourmet taste.

Ingredients

For the shortcrust pastry:

  • 200 g flour
  • 100 g butter
  • 70 ml water
  • ½ teaspoon salt

For the filling:

  • 500 g pears
  • 250 g Val d’Aosta fontina cheese
  • 1 dl milk
  • 1 dl fresh heavy cream
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 6 tablespoons LIMMI lemon juice
  • 30 g butter
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Make the shortcrust pastry

In a mixer, combine the flour with the cold butter cut into small chunks. Stop the mixer, then add the water and salt. Start the mixer back up and continue kneading till combined to form an elastic dough. Remove the dough and place it on a flat, floured working surface.

Knead the dough by hand for a few minutes, shape it into a ball, wrap it in plastic film, and let it rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Now make the filling

Peel the pears, cut them into wedges, and let them marinate in lemon juice for 15 minutes.

In a frying pan, soften the butter, add the pears and cook them for about 10 minutes, till soft.

Set them aside to cool.

Take the shortcrust pastry out of the refrigerator, and stretch it out over baking paper using a rolling pin.

[For future use: if you don’t wish to use all immediately, roll up the pastry dough in the baking paper, seal the ends of the roll, and place it back in the refrigerator. Just remember to use it within 3 days of preparing it]

Pierce the bottom of the dough with a fork, arrange the pears over it, and cover them with a single layer of sliced fontina cheese.

Next, in a bowl, beat the egg, egg yolk, heavy cream, milk, together with salt and pepper to taste. Pour this delicious cream over the layer of fontina cheese covering the pears.

Bake the quiche for 40/45 minutes in an oven preheated to 180° C.  Garnish with a few sage leaves.