Smoked Bacon and Kale Quiche

STEP 1: MAKE THE PASTRY

Rub the chilled butter into the flour and salt with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs, working quickly and lifting your hands high to keep everything cold. A few larger flecks of butter are desirable, not a defect. Stir through the egg yolk, then add the ice-cold water a tablespoon at a time, cutting it in with a table knife until the dough just begins to clump. Stop the moment it comes together — overworked shortcrust is tough shortcrust. Bring it into a disc, wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

STEP 2: LINE THE TIN AND CHILL AGAIN

Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface to about 3 mm and line the tart tin, easing it into the flutes without stretching, since stretched pastry shrinks back in the oven. Leave the excess hanging over the rim; do not trim it yet. Prick the base lightly with a fork. Chill the lined case in the freezer for 20 minutes, or the fridge for 45. Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F / gas 6 with a heavy baking sheet on the middle shelf.

STEP 3: BLIND BAKE, SEAL AND TRIM

Line the chilled case with baking parchment and fill with baking beans right up to the rim. Bake on the preheated sheet for 20 minutes. Lift out the parchment and beans and return the case, uncovered, for a further 12-15 minutes, until the base is dry, sandy to the touch and a proper biscuit gold rather than blond. Brush the hot case all over, inside and rim, with the beaten egg and return it for 3 minutes to set a waterproof seal. Now, with the case fully baked and firm, trim the overhang flush with the rim using a fine grater held at an angle; trimming after baking rather than before is what gives a clean, level edge. The case can be baked, sealed and trimmed a day ahead and left at room temperature under a clean cloth. Reduce the oven to 170°C / 340°F / gas 3.

STEP 4: RENDER THE BACON AND BUILD THE KALE

Fry the lardons in a dry pan over medium heat until the fat has rendered and the bacon is genuinely crisp, about 8-10 minutes. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the fat in the pan. Add the garlic and chilli flakes to the hot bacon fat and cook for 30 seconds, then add the shredded cavolo nero and curly kale with a splash of water. Cover and sweat for 5-6 minutes until collapsed and tender, then uncover and cook off every trace of liquid — wet greens are the enemy of a set custard. Stir in the lemon zest. Tip about one third of the mixture into a small blender with 3 tablespoons of the measured cream and blitz to a coarse dark-green puree. Spread the remaining two thirds out on a plate to cool.

STEP 5: MAKE THE KALE CRISPS

Toss the reserved whole kale leaves with the olive oil, a pinch of salt and a squeeze of the reserved lemon juice. Spread them on a tray and bake at 170°C / 340°F for 8-10 minutes until brittle and dark but not scorched. Set aside on kitchen paper. These go on at the very end and are the third registration of kale — the one that hits the palate first.

STEP 6: MIX THE CUSTARD

Whisk the eggs and extra yolks in a jug until smooth, then whisk in the remaining cream and the milk. Whisk in the kale puree until evenly coloured; the custard should be a soft sage green. Add the thyme, nutmeg, black pepper and about two thirds of the grated Cheddar. Taste, then salt cautiously — the bacon and Cheddar carry a great deal already. Do not aerate the mixture; you want it smooth, not frothy, or the set surface will be pitted.

STEP 7: FILL IN ORDER

Scatter half the remaining Cheddar over the base of the blind-baked case. Distribute the crisp lardons evenly, keeping a small handful back. Arrange the cooled sweated greens over the bacon in an even layer, teasing them apart rather than tipping them in as a clump. Level the surface with the back of a spoon. Set the tin on the preheated baking sheet, still on the shelf, and pour the custard in there rather than carrying a full tin across the kitchen. Fill to just below the rim. Scatter the last of the Cheddar and the reserved lardons on top.

STEP 8: BAKE, COLOUR AND REST

Bake at 170°C / 340°F / gas 3 for 35-40 minutes, until the custard is set with only the faintest wobble at the very centre. Raise the oven to 200°C / 400°F / gas 6 for a final 5-6 minutes to bring colour to the top and firm the pastry rim; watch it closely, as it moves fast. Cool in the tin on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before unmoulding, as a quiche cut hot will slump. Scatter the kale crisps over just before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature, never fridge-cold.