Name: Pear and Fontina Quiche with homemade pie dough
Prep time: 1 h 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h 55 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 200 g flour; 100 g butter; 70 ml cold water; ½ tsp salt; 3 pears; the juice of 1 lemon; 30 g butter; a dash of salt & pepper; 180 g Fontina, grated, cubed, or sliced; 100 ml milk; 100 ml heavy cream; 1 egg; 1 egg yolk; Salt & pepper to taste

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Pear and Fontina Quiche with homemade pie dough. Perfect for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or light dinner, you can make it with my easy pie dough, or use a store-bought one, instead. Pear and cheese is a classic Italian combination, intriguing and absolutely delicious. Easter is approaching, try it for Easter brunch!

Song of the day: SNAP - Italian by Rosa Linn, Alfa

Pear and Fontina?

"Al contadino non far sapere quanto è buono il formaggio con le pere" is an old Italian saying which translates into "Do not let the farmer know how good is the cheese with the pears". Why's that? Some say it is because the nobles wanted to keep this unusual and amazing discovery something exclusive to them.

On the other hand, we want to share with everybody that the pairing cheese and pears is delightful. Try this combination also on a charcutery board, in salads, as a sauce for pasta, on a tartine, or in a crostata.

First, make the pie dough

Surely, you can use store-bought puff pastry or pie dough, but this homemade "pasta brisée" is quick and quite easy to make. Here is how it's done:

In a bowl, or the bowl of a food processor, work the flour with the cubed cold butter until you have pea-size pieces.
Then, add the salt and the cold water. Work all the ingredients quickly for a few minutes.
Form a ball and wrap it with cling wrap. Leave it to rest for 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Second, prepare the pears

Peel the pears, cut them in half, then into quarters and wedges, and marinate them in lemon juice for 5-10 minutes.
In a pan, soften the butter, add the pears, and season with salt and pepper.
Cook for about 10 minutes, or until soft. Set aside to cool.

Third, make the egg cream and assemble the quiche

Take the dough out of the fridge and roll it out with a rolling pin on a sheet of parchment paper dusted with flour.
Place the stretched dough in the prepared baking pan (I used a 22 cm round silicone pan) and prick the bottom of the dough with a fork.
Arrange the pears at the bottom of the pie dough, leaving some for the top. Sprinkle the pears with a layer of grated Fontina.
In a bowl mix the egg, yolk, cream, and milk. Season with salt and pepper.
Pour this cream onto the layer of fontina that covers the pears.
Fold the edges over the filling a little, or cut the excess dough around.

Pear and Fontina Quiche with homemade pie dough-cream-layer

Pear-and-Fontina-Quiche-with-homemade-pie-dough-folding-edges

Lastly, bake the quiche

Bake the quiche for 40-45 minutes in a preheated oven at 180°C/350°F. Check with a skewer if the custard is set. Take out of the oven and let cool on a rack.

When cooled off completely, unmold the Pear and Fontina Quiche, and place on a cake stand. Cut and serve.

The taste test

I love this crust: buttery, crispy and delicate. A perfect pairing to the luscious egg cream, melted Fontina, and those beautiful caramelized pear. The amazing thing is the play of sweet and savory is perfectly balanced, along with a nice bite on the pear. All in all, this Pear and Fontina Quiche with homemade pie dough is totally a win win recipe, and I definitely can see this for Easter brunch!

Enjoy!