This Wild Mushroom Quiche is worthy of a special occasion. It's got a silky egg custard loaded with a heap of thyme-scented wild mushrooms and melting cheese. The gluten-free crust is crispy and flaky - the perfect combination with the rich, savoury filling.
The mushroom fairy struck again!
My mushroom-picking friend dropped off a tub of beautiful honey mushrooms she had just foraged, and I was in heaven.
There's no better gift from the forest than a bounty of earthy, flavourful, wild mushrooms. With the right amount of rain, they seem to pop up overnight, offering up their bounty for so many delicious dishes. These honey mushrooms were beautiful.
I couldn't wait to turn them into a wonderful mushroom quiche. Mushrooms and eggs go together like best friends, and with a lusciously silky custard, the friendship is sealed. Add some cheesy goodness, a few fresh thyme leaves, a hint of nutmeg, and a kiss of garlic, encase it in a tender crust, and the result is pure mushroomy magic.
What You'll Need
To make this Wild Mushroom Quiche, you will need an unbaked single pastry crust. Use your favourite one, or for a gluten-free quiche, use the recipe below for a crust that bakes up beautifully flaky and crispy. It's my go-to crust and no one can ever tell it's gluten-free! It's that good.
In addition to the crust, you'll need:
- wild mushrooms - use any kind you have, like chanterelles, porcini, even morelles. Or use cremini or button mushrooms (foraged from the grocery store aisles 😉) - they have a milder flavour, but make a good quiche, too.
- cheese - use a good, melting cheese. The earthy flavour of Swiss cheeses goes especially well with mushrooms. Gruyère, Emmentaler, or French Comté cheese all work really well (but if all you have is cheddar, that will be tasty, too)
- light cream makes a silky custard for the filling. You could use half milk and half heavy cream instead, or if you want the filling to be over-the-top rich and decadent, use all heavy cream.
How to Make a Mouthwatering Wild Mushroom Quiche
Tear the mushrooms into smaller pieces with your fingers. I love the irregular look of torn mushrooms (and it's satisfying to tear them). Chop the stems if they don't tear easily. Leave small mushroom caps whole.
Sauté the onion just until it's transparent, then add the mushrooms and half of the salt. (Salt helps draw the moisture out of the mushrooms, speeding up the process.) Add the thyme leaves and garlic. Cook the mushrooms until they've released all of their water and the liquid cooks off (evaporates) completely, leaving no moisture pooling in the pan. Let them cool to room temperature.
Sprinkle the shredded cheese in the bottom of the pastry crust, and spread the cooled mushrooms on top.
Now whisk up the eggs with the cream and flavourings. Pour that over the mushrooms.
The crust should be filled almost to the top. The filling will puff up as it bakes, then deflate again to almost the same height as it cools.
Ready to Enjoy
Let the mushroom quiche cool slightly so it sets enough to slice it. Serve it warm or at room temperature. The quiche can also be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 or 4 days, then brought to room temperature or slightly warmed in the oven or microwave to serve it.
What amazing flavour and texture! There's that silky-smooth custard made rich with melting cheese shreds, topped off with toothsome, earthy, wild mushrooms. A hint of nutmeg, cayenne, and a whiff of garlic add to the umami deliciousness of this fantastic treat from the forest.
Some Other Things to Make with Wild Mushrooms
- Mushrooms on Toast - a Simple Pleasure
- Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup
- Steak and Mushrooms - a Classic
- Mushroom Dal with Brown Rice and Spice Oil
- Leek and Mushroom Tart
- Wild Mushroom Risotto
- Mushroom Ragu with Lentil Polenta
- Pasta with Morel Mushrooms in a Delicate Cream Sauce
- Wild Rice and Mushrooms
- Crispy Pan-Fried Morel Mushrooms
- What are Coral Mushrooms?
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Guten Appetit!
Wild Mushroom Quiche
Equipment
- a 10 or 10½-inch (25-27 cm) quiche pan or 10-inch deep-dish pie pan
Ingredients
- 1 single crust pastry, regular or gluten-free (for the gluten-free crust recipe, see below)
- 1 lb. (454 g) wild mushrooms, any kind or a mix of several kinds (6 cups chopped or torn mushrooms) or use button mushrooms or cremini mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ½ medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 large clove garlic or 2 medium cloves, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
- 1½ teaspoons fresh thyme leaves (or ½ teaspoon dried thyme)
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, divided
- 1 cup (100 g) shredded Swiss cheese (or Gruyère, Emmentaler, or Comté cheese)
- 4 large eggs
- 2 cups (480 ml) light cream (10-18% milkfat)
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- pinch of cayenne
Gluten-Free Pastry Crust
- 2 tablespoons ground golden flax seeds
- 4 tablespoons (60 ml) water
- 1½ cups (200 g) gluten-free flour mix
- ½ teaspoon baking powder (gluten-free)
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup (100 g) cold lard, diced (or ½ cup/113 grams cold butter, or half lard and half butter - ¼ cup of each)
- 2 tablespoons plain yogurt (or 1 egg yolk)
Instructions
To Make the Gluten-Free Pastry Crust
- Stir together the ground flax seeds and water and leave them to gel for 10 minutes.
- Whisk together the gluten-free flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add the cubed lard (or butter) and toss with the flour. Squeeze the cubes lightly with your fingers to flatten them to large flakes in the flour.
- Add the flax gel and yogurt and mix with a fork just until the flour is mostly moistened.
- Knead the dough lightly a few times until it just comes together into a rough ball. You should still see chunks of butter in the dough (these will melt while baking to make flaky pockets). Shape the pastry ball into a disk about 1-inch (2.5 cm) thick. Wrap it tightly with plastic food wrap and chill it for 30 minutes, or up to 5 days.
- When rolling out a gluten-free pastry crust, roll it between two sheets of parchment paper.
To Make the Wild Mushroom Quiche:
- Roll out the pastry crust and fit it into the quiche pan. Refrigerate it while you make the filling.
- Preheat the oven to 425℉ (220℃).
- Tear the mushrooms into irregular pieces or chop them into large pieces.
- In a large skillet, heat the butter over medium-high heat.
- Add the chopped onion and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the mushrooms, garlic, thyme, and ½ teaspoon of the salt to the skillet. (A bit of salt helps draw the excess liquid from the mushrooms.)
- Cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms have released all of their juices and the juices have evaporated so there is no liquid visible in the bottom of the skillet. Let cool to room temperature.
- Sprinkle the shredded cheese in the bottom of the pastry crust.
- Spread the cooled mushroom mixture on top.
- Whisk together the eggs, cream, remaining ½ teaspoon of salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne. Pour this over the mushrooms and cheese in the pastry crust.
- Bake for 15 minutes, then (without opening the oven door) turn down the oven heat to 350℉/180℃ and bake for another 30-35 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the center of the quiche is slightly puffed up.
- Cool for 10-15 minutes before cutting. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
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