I remember the first time I bit into a quiche with my mother. She brought me along to visit some of her friends, and then I saw on the table bite-sized, round little pastry cups filled with yellow, green, and white bits. Having always been a curious eater, I picked one up and bit into it. Bursts of creamy egg, cheese, and mushroom burst into my mouth. I picked up another one, this time with egg and sausage; delicious! My mother told me that it was called a quiche. I walked around rolling the strange word around on my tongue. I thought it must have been spelled “keesh,” and was fascinated by the sound, because this delicate little French word sounded so different from the English vocabulary I was used to.
Tips for a delicious quiche
Now as an adult, it’s common for me to see little cups on hors d’oeuvres, or be served a big slice of quiche for breakfast or lunch. So during lockdown, I decided to give this popular french dish a go, and it was surprisingly easy! When it comes to making a quiche, the basic steps are to make an epic pie crust, and fill it with eggs, heavy cream, milk, and salt and pepper to taste. If you’re feeling lazy you can make a quiche with a pre-made pie crust, it’ll take only 5-10 minutes of prep time, and 30-40 minutes of baking while you watch netflix. Personally however, I love the taste of homemade crusts, but you’ll definitely have to set some time aside for it. The quiche I made was a mushroom quiche (quiche aux champignons) with feta cheese, but it’s totally okay to substitute the ingredients with whatever fits your fancy. And if you want to make mini quiche cups, you can follow the same recipe, and prepare it to bake in a muffin tin.
Here are some popular quiche ingredients:
- cheddar cheese
- gruyere cheese
- swiss cheese
- goat cheese
- spinach (florentine quiche)
- tomatoes (provençale quiche)
- caramelized onions
- fresh parsley, basil, or rosemary
- sausage
- crab meat
- other sauteed vegetables and/or cooked meat
Serving Size: 8
Prep Time: 20 minutes – 2 hours 30 minutes (depending on if you make the crust or not)
Bake Time: 30-40 minutes
Utensils: 9-inch round baking pan, food processor (optional)
Ingredients:
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Pie Crust
1 ½ cups Breadfast all-purpose flour
112g salted butter (or add ½ teaspoon of salt, cut into small cubes)
½ teaspoon sugar
1 large egg yolk
Quiche Filling
olive oil
½ cup red onions
1 pound mushrooms (any variety)
½ cup milk
½ cup heavy cream
3 large eggs
1½ cup feta cheese (grated)
salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- To make the crust, combine the flour, salt, sugar, and salted butter in a food processor and pulse until it’s thoroughly combined. If hand mixing, stir until the pieces are well combined, and it may be helpful to use a knife to break up larger bits. You should have a fine cornmeal like texture.
- Add the egg yolk and combine until a crumbly dough forms. It should still hold it’s shape if you pinch it together, if not, add a sprinkle of water a little at a time. (Too much water will make the crust dense instead of light and flaky)
- Shape the dough into a ball, place it in the middle of the baking pan, and begin to press outwards to form a pie crust. Freeze for at least 30 minutes, but for best results, keep frozen for 2 hours – 2 weeks so the crust can retain its shape in the oven.
- Bake for 15 minutes at 175°C, then set aside to chill.
- To make the filling, sautee the onions, mushrooms, salt and pepper, until the mushrooms are browned – about 10 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, cream, and eggs. When thoroughly combined, add in some salt and pepper.
- To put everything together, sprinkle half of the grated cheddar cheese on the bottom of the crust. Top the cheese with the sauteed mushrooms and vegetables, and sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese. Finally, pour the egg/milk/cream mix into the crust so that it covers everything.
- Bake your quiche for 30-40 minutes until the center jiggles, then chill for at least 20 minutes before serving.
Pro tip: Don’t overbake, or your quiche will taste quite rubbery. If you see a little liquid when you take the quiche out of the oven, don’t be alarmed. It just needs time to chill and set.
