Today we're updating the blog with some quiche thoughts. Over time we've altered the recipe a bit - primarily with the liquid because it overflows out of the pan a lot. And for the first time, with this quiche shared in this post, we used a homemade pie crust that we had frozen. I'll include all of our tried and true tips for quiche making at the end of the post!
One reason I love keeping quiche in the brunch rotation is because the filling options are limitless! We've made ham and caramelized onions, sundried tomatoes and spinach, butternut squash and caramelized onions, ham and cheese, leek and sun-dried tomatoes, only cheese, and most recently spinach, mushroom, and goat cheese. Below is our updated information for making quiche!
Spinach, mushroom, and goat cheese quiche in a homemade crust |
Make the crust
We're still loving the Martha Stewart Classic Pie Crust that is made with butter, flour, a bit of sugar and salt, and some water. Here's the recipe:
In a food processor pulse together
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
Then add 1 stick butter (cold, unsalted and cut into pieces) and continue to pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with just a few pea-size pieces remaining.
Sprinkle with 2 tbsp ice water and pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed with fingers. If needed add up to 2 tbsp more ice water, 1 tbsp at a time. I usually find that I need the additional water.
Turn dough out onto a work sugar and form into a 3/4" disk. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate until firm. Martha recommends an hour but I don't always do that.
After the dough has been chilled, flour your work surface and place the disk here. Roll dough to a 14" round. Gently place over the pie plate. Trim overhang to 1" and fold under to form a uniform edge around the rim. Refrigerate for an hour.
We usually always blind bake a crust now. To do so place pie weights (or dried beans) into the crust and bake in a 350F preheated oven for 20-30 minutes until slightly golden. This prevents the dough from becoming too soggy. The crust is now ready for filling!
As mentioned in the introduction we've had success with freezing this crust. In December when I was making a quiche I made two crust and froze the second one. Two days before making this quiche I removed the crust from the freezer and let it thaw in the refrigerator. Rolling it out and eating it seemed just like a freshly made crust! From now on I think I'll be making two crusts every time I need one.
Assemble the filling
After the crust has been made and blind baked we assemble the filling. We find it easier to layer the filling on the bottom of the pie before pouring the egg mixture over it. This ensures that the filling is evenly distributed throughout the quiche. After spreading the vegetables and protein we sprinkle cheese over top. If a vegetable contains a lot of moisture like mushrooms we like to saute those first before layering on the crust. Sometimes we'll also place cheese under the vegetables / protein.
Prepare the custard
Finally we top the quiche filling with this egg custard from a local cookbook.
Combine and whisk together: 4 eggs, 1 cup dairy* (may use milk or half & half or a combination), dash of salt and pepper. Other seasonings as they complement the filling.
*The original recipe calls for 1 cup milk and 1/2 cup half & half. We've reduced the dairy to 1 cup to prevent the custard from overflowing the pie crust. Our pie pans are not deep dish and I imagine this is not necessary for deep dish shells.
Pour over filling. To prevent making a mess place the pie pan on a baking sheet to help move the quiche to and from the oven. The last quiche we made had a little bit of overflow that was baked on to the pan (and fortunately not dripping in the oven). Patrick suggests placing the quiche on the extended oven rack, pouring in the custard, and pushing the rack back into the oven but when I tried this the movement of pushing the oven rack in caused the custard to splash out. Just some extra info!
Bake the quiche
Bake the quiche in a preheated 375F oven for 45 minutes or until firm and brown. Allow quiche to set up for at least 30 minutes. Enjoy!
So smart to make your own crust. I remember when Granny would do that.
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