Salmon Quiche

Three things came together to make this quiche possible : a bag of salmon that I was in a hurry to finish, a bag of dirt cheap onions which I did not know what to do with it, frozen pastry puff.

Last week, I made 2 mini quiches which I would not pay myself to eat. The egg custard was so thick that the custard could not make its way around the quiche filling. My lack of planning meant I ran out of baking paper and I baked blind with nothing on it and effectively created a quiche shell that was like a crispy biscuit. Hubby was supportive enough to help finish the 2 mini quiches.

Fast forward a week. With the lessons learnt, I took pains to correct my earlier mistakes. Even with a ready to bake shortcrust, I still took 5 hours to assemble everything with a horrifying mountain of bowls and pans to wash. 

Nevertheless, don't try, won't know. I declare the quiche a success. 

I made 2 quiches, one a round 7 inch quiche, another a 10 x 4 inch quiche. I wanted a savory salmon and a lemon tart but 3 hours into the project, the work got tedious and I ditched the idea and made 2 quiches with the same ingredients.

So here was what I did. Takes about 5 hours including washing up, so give yourself plenty of time before the feast.

Base :

7 inch round quiche pan, removable base and 10 x 4 inch tart pan, removable base. Grease both pans. Set aside.

2 premade frozen pastry crusts.

Baking paper

Ceramic weights

Filling:

1 piece of salmon, about palm size

8 medium size onions, skinned and thinly sliced

1 bowl of button mushroom, thinly sliced

1 fistful of smoked bacon

Custard:

250ml cooking cream

3 eggs beaten with a pinch of salt

Cheese:

Any cheese such as cheddar, sliced

Method:

Preparing the crust:

Remove the shortcrust with a flat knife. Leave it on a clean worktop to soften until just malleable to work with, about 10 minutes (it was 35C outside the house).

When ready, carefully transfer the shortcrust to the prepared trays. Form the shell carefully. Trim off overhang. Prick holes. Put back to the fridge to chill.

At this point, I must explain my process. The process was a serial one instead of a parallel process. The pastry was done for the round tray then sent back to chill. Then I repeated the procedure for the other rectangular tray.

Par-bake the quiche base:

Preheat the oven to 180C. When oven is ready, take one of the tray with prepared crust out.

Line the pastry with baking paper. Pour the weights on the paper.

Bake at 180C for 15mins.

Lift the paper with weights. Prick the quiche base with a fork. This prevents puffing.

Return the 'naked' quiche back to the oven. 

Continue to bake at 180C for 5 minutes.

Remove the quiche pan. Prick holes and press down any puffy parts of the pastry. Leave to cool.

Repeat for the other quiche with its prepared pastry.

Quiche filling:

Meanwhile, cook the salmon until just cooked. Flake with a fork. Drain and reserve.

Fry the onions, mushrooms, bacon in flavoured oil. I used garlic oil (from Donki). Use any oil you fancy.

When onions are translucent and mushroom wilted, add salmon flakes. Season with salt.

Cook at medium high heat to reduce the moisture in the salmon mix. Reserve.

Custard:

In a saucepan, add 250 ml of cooking cream.

Heat until the cream starts to steam. DO NOT let the cream boil.

Turn off the heat.

Whisk in the eggs, whisking to incorporate eggs and cream. Season to taste.

The goal is to get the consistency (nappé) that coats the base of a spoon.

Reserve.

Assembly:

Preheat the oven to 180C.

'Pave' the par-baked crust with cheese.

Gently transfer the salmon mushroom onion mix on the cheese. The mix should be level with the edge of the tray.

Pour the custard into the filled quiche.

Bake at 180C for 25 minutes or until center of the quiche is just cooked.

To serve:

Cool sufficiently before removing the quiche from the pan.

Serve with waldorf or anything tart to go with the richness of the quiche.

It is a labor of love. But I assure you it is worth it.