Ingredients

  • Crust
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 cup plus 2 tbs AP flour (plus more for rolling)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • zest from 2 lemons
  • ground pepper
  • ice water
  • Filling
  • 8 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 1 cup bourdin cheese
  • 1 1/2 cups mascarpone
  • 1 cup mixed black and green olives, I used kalamata and cerignola
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • wheels from 2 lemons (I used the ones I zested for the crust)
  • juice from 1 lemon
  • ground pepper

Method

  • Make the crust - cut the butter up and get it very cold - I put it in the freezer for 15 minutes or so.
  • Put the flour and lemon zest and salt in the food processor. Add in the butter and pulse it until it is pebbly. Slowly start pulsing in ice water a little at a time - how much will depend on your flour and location, I used 6 tbs. When the dough just comes together dump it out, form it into a disk and wrap it is platic wrap. Refridgerate for at least 30 minutes (or make a day ahead)
  • When the dough is chilled, roll it out to fit a 9 inch deep pie plate. I roll between 2 sheets of plastic with a dusting of flour. when the dough is about half rolled, sprinkle it generously with ground pepper (we ground the pepper straight over the dough). Lay the dough in the pie plate, trim the edges and return it to the fridge.
  • If your olives have pits, pit them and either chop or tear them up. I like the raggedy look of torn olives. Remove the pith from those zested lemons and slice them into wheels - carefully remove any pits.
  • Heat the oven to 350. Mix the milk and eggs together in a large bowl then mix in the mascarpone and thyme. Crumble in the bourdin by hand, leave it a bit chunky. Then stir in the olives too. Go get the pie crust, put it on a baking sheet (for easy transport and in case of bubble-overs) and pour the mixture in. Now gently lay the lemon wheels on top so they sort of float. Grind more pepper over the whole thing. Into the oven. Bake for an hour, or until the crust is golden and the quiche is not jiggly.
  • Let the quiche rest - it is best warm or room temperature.