“Kich”, or Kitchen in Lorrain, the regional language of Lorraine, is a savory tart known for its rich filling in this cold Northeastern corner of France. Lardons (cubed pieces of cured pork fat) and cream or crème fraiche and eggs are traditionally baked into a flaky shell, but variations exist, from the addition of Gruyère in Vosges to caramelized onions in Alsace. If you can’t find lardons, you can cube a larger piece of slab bacon or get cubed pancetta
Ingredients
Crust
2cupsall-purpose flour240g
2tspskosher salt
6ozunsalted butter, cold168g
3-4tbspvery cold water
Filling
1/2cupwhole milk120g
4ozcreme fraiche112g
2eggs
1tspkosher salt
3-4turns of freshly ground pepper
1/8tspground nutmeg
2ozlardons, or uncured pancetta (or cubed bacon)56g
2ozGruyere, shredded 56g
Instructions
Crust
Mix the flour and salt together in a medium bowl. Use your fingers to rub the cold butter into the flour. Once the butter has formed pebble-sized pieces (about the size of your pinky fingernail), pour the water in. Using your hands as large scoops, gather and incorporate the water to create a shaggy dough. You may need to use an extra tablespoon of water, but your dough should not feel wet!
Gather the dough into a flat disc and wrap tightly in plastic wrap or parchment paper. Chill for at least 45 minutes. Place an 8”x1” tart pan onto a parchment-paper lined cookie sheet.
Heat your oven to 375F.
On a well-floured surface, begin to roll out your dough. You’ll want the dough to be about 1” larger than your tart pan. Using your rolling pin, lift the dough and place it gently into the pan. Freeze this for 30 minutes for best results. Prick the bottom of the pan with a fork and crinkle up a large piece of parchment paper, placing it over the dough. Dump the pie weights into the parchment-lined dough and bake until the edges are golden; about 25 minutes.
Once the tart is golden, remove it from the oven and let it rest with the pie weights for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temp to 325F. Remove the weights and return the tart crust to the oven until the bottom has browned; about 10 minutes.
Filling
While crust is baking, mix your filling! Whisk the eggs, crème fraiche, heavy cream, salt and pepper until homogenous. Remove the golden-bottom crust and sprinkle half of the cheese and all of the lardons over the crust. Pour in the filling and top with remaining cheese. Bake for 25 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.