Wild Mushroom Quiche

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 45

Total Time 1 5

Servings

Calories 401

Author Margaret Bose Johnson

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.

Notes

Use a mix of any kind of wild mushrooms, or use regular button mushrooms or cremini mushrooms.

To make the quiche especially rich and decadent, you can use heavy cream instead of light cream, or half of each. The filling becomes really silky and luxurious.

Nutrition