Smoked Salmon Quiche

[MaryH]

This is an adaptation from a Quiche Lorraine receipe I had when I was living/working in Paris..  I do different variations of it depending on what I am in the mood for.  It makes a great meal or brunch when served with a side salad and easy to bring to a buffet or potluck.  Excellent hot but could be eaten cold for a nice bring to work lunch.

1 9" deep dish frozen pie shell or 1 home made pie crust
4-5 large slices of smoked salmon to tastes (anywhere between 3-6 oz depending on preference)
250g or 8 oz of mushrooms sliced - prefer portobello but anything works
5 eggs
enough cream or evaporated milk to get 1.5 cup of liquid with eggs
4-5 sprigs of dill
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Put the pastry in a deep dish pie plate or a flan / tart pan.  If using ready made frozen pastry, take it out of the package.  Pierce with fork on bottom and sides and bake in 375F oven for 12-15 minutes for a partially baked pie shell.
2.  chopped the smoked salmon and add them and the sliced mushrooms into the pie shell, mix a little and spread evenly.
3. beat 5 eggs until frothy and add enough cream or evaporated milk so the liquid total 1.5 cups total.  Add chopped dill in addition to salt and pepper to taste.
4. Pour the egg mixture into the pie shell on top of the filling.  Make sure not to overfill or it might spill over.  If you have some left over egg mixture, you can put some filling in the egg mixture and throw it in the microwave for about 2-3 minutes until set.
5. Put in the 375F oven and bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown and eggs in the quiche are set.
6. Cool for 5-10 minutes, cut and serve.

Note 1: I do different versions / variations depending on what I have in the house.  I have used canned sockeye salmon with roasted red pepper or asparagus, tuna with canned corn, cubed ham and guyere cheese, smoked chicken with sauteed spinach, etc.  I adjust the herb used based on the meat or fish used.

Note 2: I Usually do a vegetarian and non-vegetarian quiche (difference is the meat or fish component since my sister is vegetarian) as part of the starter when I cook Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey with all the trimming i.e. Chestnut stuffing, etc.  2 quiches take about the same amount of time as 1..  You can even do 2 different filling with minimum additional effort so people would have a choice when there are a lot of people.

[Ellen]

Excellent! Again, thanks so much for this one. I think I will have to make one this coming weekend.

[MaryH]

If you are only doing 1 quiche and don't want to fire up the big oven, I have done it in a toaster oven when I was on the road on a project when I got tired of hotel and restaurant food.

Alternatively, I have also used the opportunity to roast some almonds at the same times as the quiche.  Either plain or cajun spiced. yumm.