Smoked Salmon, Dill, and Goat Cheese Quiche

Posted by Elise on May 6, 2009
Filed under Breakfast and Brunch, Egg

One of my favorite recipes on this site is the smoked salmon and goat cheese toasts; I just love the blending of flavors of the herbed goat cheese, the salmon, and lemon zest on crunchy buttered toasts. When trying to come up with a good quiche to serve for a Mother's Day brunch, I spied some smoked salmon in the fridge and here you have it - an appetizer morphed into a custard. Fresh dill is added because, well, dill just tastes good with salmon. But feel free to use another favorite herb if dill's not your thing. For the filling, I followed Michael Ruhlman's basic ratio for quiche filling, which is essentially 1/2 cup of milk or cream for every large egg. This produces a delicate, creamy custard for your quiche. If you want something sturdier, feel free to add another egg. We like it as is. In fact, when I asked if my mother or father thought it could use another egg, I got a clear "it's perfect as it is, don't mess with it." High praise from those two!

Do you have any particularly favorite quiche combinations? If so, please let us know about it in the comments.


Smoked Salmon, Dill, and Goat Cheese Quiche Recipe
INGREDIENTS
1 recipe pie dough (see Pâte Brisée recipe)
1 Tbsp olive oil
4 medium shallots, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)
4 ounces smoked salmon, chopped
4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
3 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup cream
2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
METHOD
1 Roll out dough into a 12-inch circle. Place it into a 10-by-1 1/2-inch round tart pan (with or without a removable bottom), pressing dough into corners. Place in freezer to chill for 30 minutes.


2 Preheat oven to 350°. Line pastry with aluminum foil or parchment paper, pressing into the corners and edges. Fill at least two-thirds with baking weights - dried beans, rice, or ceramic or metal pie weights. Bake first for 15 minutes, remove from oven and let cool a few minutes. Carefully remove aluminum foil or parchment paper and weights. Poke the bottom of the pie pan with the tongs of a fork (fork holes are for any air to escape) and return to oven. Bake for an additional 10 minutes or until just lightly golden. Place on a wire rack to cool while making filling.
3 Heat oil in a small skillet on medium heat. Add the shallots and cook until translucent, a couple minutes, remove from heat. Whisk eggs in a medium bowl, whisk in milk, cream, dill, lemon zest, and black pepper.

4 Line the bottom of the quiche crust with cooked shallots. Put one layer down of half the smoked salmon and goat cheese. Pour half of the egg/milk/cream mixture over the salmon and goat cheese in the quiche shell. Layer down the remaining salmon and goat cheese, and pour the remaining egg/milk/cream mixture over it. Transfer to oven. Bake at 350°F until just set in the center, about 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before serving.
Serves 6.