Quiche is one of my favorite things, my take on it involves a little deviation from the norm. For my crust I add ½ cup fried shallots (found in Asian markets) to add a little crunch and interest the usually most uninteresting part of the dish, also I add some fresh cracked pepper. Quiche is great if you need to use up leftovers or if you want to serve dish to a crowd that is great at room temperature. I like to pair my quiche with a nice frisee salad,with some citrus segments, red onion, and light vinaigrette to cut the richness of the quiche (now is not the time to substitute “low-fat” products…a watery quiche is a waste of the labor, all things in moderation).
Mise en Place:
6 room temperature eggs
1 cup half & half
1 cup cheese of choice (I used some smoked swiss, baby swiss, and parmesan)
dash of Tabasco (French chefs always have this in their arsenal)
4oz prosciutto diced (use what you have on hand)
8 oz mushrooms sauteed (I used crimini, you what you like)
Tip: when sauteing mushrooms, for a beautiful golden color DO NOT SALT! Salt draws out the water and they will never get brown just steam.
a few tablespoons of herbs (I used parsley, and some dried herb de provence, dried are fine as long as they are freshly purchased…also use sparingly as they tend to be much more condensed.
Crust:
2 cups unbleached flour (substitute whole wheat if you like)
6 oz cold butter (I used salted, if you are going the unsalted route add 1 tsp of salt)
¼ cup ice cold water.
¼ cup fried shallots or those “french fried” onions used in the Thanksgiving favorite “green bean casserole” only if you really can’t find the shallots though…haha!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make your crust first by cutting the butter into the flour until it crumbly, cut in the shallots, add water, combine and form a disk (do this in advance and freeze if you want). Refridgerate 1 hr or overnight. Roll out into pie pan (I used a 10 inch tart pan) and use parchment paper and pie weights (dry beans work well, I used my husbands bourbon). Bake 15 minutes until set. Remove from oven. Set aside. Whip eggs, half and half, and Parmesan. Layer prosciutto, cheese, mushrooms, pour egg mixture over. Bake 45 minutes till the middle is set and lightly golden.
