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quiche maraîchère {ffwd}
I adore anything made in a tart pan: sweet or savory. Hands down, the most used piece of baking equipment used in my kitchen is my tart pan. Quiche is a popular option. It’s a great way to use up leftover bits in the fridge. A pastry shell filled with bite-sized vegetables or chopped meat covered in a custard filling with a little cheese on top, and you’ve got an ever-changing series of options.
This week’s recipe for French Fridays with Dorie is the Quiche Maraîchère. A Google translation of Maraîchère says it means truck farmer, so we’re talking about a filling that honors farmer’s market style freshness. Not much is growing outside in my neck of the woods quite yet, but the filling for this quiche relies on vegetables that are at least readily available at the grocery store all year long: celery, carrots, leeks, and red pepper. I’m inspired to rename this Confetti Quiche based on the vibrant assortment of colors combined for this recipe.
I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ll say it again. I’m not a big fan of Dorie’s Pate Brisee. My go-to recipe is Mark Bittman’s though for this quiche, I tried out Maria Speck’s Whole Wheat Butter Pastry Crust (without the sugar) from Ancient Grains for Modern Meals or on-line here. The crust was a little chewy, but much better than other whole-wheat or spelt crusts I’ve tried. I don’t think I used quite enough water so overworked it, making it a bit tough. It is a crust I will try again.
As with Dorie’s other quiches, this one has a lower custard to filling ratio which I find quite pleasing (meaning, LOTS of filling bound together with just enough eggs and cream). The only complaint I had with the quiche maraîchère recipe is that, though we were encouraged to add as much custard as would possibly fill the crust without overflowing, the quantity I mixed up per the recipe didn’t even come close to the top of the crust. I could have perhaps doubled the custard to fill it up.
It didn’t really matter though. The end results was a feast for the eyes with all those great colors and for the belly too. We both really enjoyed this version of quiche. With a tossed salad, it made a light, but satisfying, dinner. Leftovers were good for lunch too.
Carrots and celery were vegetables I’d never thought to add to a quiche, so I’m glad to discover how well they worked. I will be making, if not this exact combination, certainly other versions that include these vegetable bin staples.
You can see what the other Doristas thought of this week’s quiche by following their links posted here. You can find the recipe online here, and, of course, it’s from Dorie Greenspan’s book Around My French Table, a book you won’t be sorry to add to your collection.
ffwd: mushroom and shallot quiche
I love quiche. I’ve seldom met a flavor combination I don’t like. We’ve already made a few from Around My French Table. The spinach-bacon was delicious. The apple-gorgonzola surprised me. This week’s selection for French Fridays with Dorie is a Mushroom and Shallot quiche, so I was excited to try it.
I think I’ve mentioned before that my go-to crust is Mark Bittman’s. It works much better for me than Dorie’s, so I started with a partially baked crust made from my preferred recipe.
The filling starts with finely chopped shallots sautéed in butter. Then, I added thickly sliced mushrooms. I used cremini mushrooms, which are baby portobellos. They have a deeper, earthier flavor than button mushrooms, and they’re the closest to wild I can afford. The mushrooms developed a lovely caramelized crust as they cooked, adding another layer of flavor. Finally, I stirred some fresh thyme into the mushrooms. The kitchen smelled divine, and the mushrooms tasted the same. I could see quartering the mushrooms and making this part of the recipe as a side dish.
More fresh thyme is sprinkled on the pastry crust before spreading the mushroom filling on top. A custard made from eggs and heavy cream is poured over the vegetables. Finally, sliced scallions and grated cheese top things off before baking.
The recipe called for Gruyere cheese, but I picked from what I had in the cheese drawer, using a semi-soft Fontina instead. It probably wasn’t as sharp or interesting as Gruyere would have been, but it worked. Grating such a small amount also gave me a chance to use my Mouli grater. I can’t remember whether this was my mother’s or whether it was someone else’s. In either case, my mother had one just like it. She used it almost exclusively for grating chocolate for her signature chocolate chip cake. I like it for finely grating small bits of cheese. Whenever I pull it out, it also makes me smile to think of my mom.
Mom’s Mouli Grater?
I have to say that I think this my favorite of the Dorie quiches we’ve cooked so far. I loved the mushroom filling, especially all the thyme flavor. I’m looking forward to enjoying it again for lunch later today. And, as I mentioned earlier, the mushroom preparation would make a great side dish, so it’s a two-for-one recipe, always a bonus.
We don’t usually share the recipes for this cooking group, but I found Dorie’s recipe on Epicurious. To read about the other bloggers’ quiches, follow their links, which are posted here.
A Plateful of Happiness 