Mushroom Leek Quiche

What is quiche?

Quiche is the French word for a thin savory tart with a buttery homemade pie shell. It mainly differs from a pie in their height.

You can use a round tart pan or square pan as I do today.

Savory quiches have 3 main components: crust, binding cream, and add-ins.

Vintage Kitchen tip: when it comes to quiche fillings, it's a wonderful way to clean your fridge, pretty much like a frittata or risotto. Most vegetables, cheeses, and deli meats can go into a quiche.

The quiche crust

An all-butter quiche pastry is best, and homemade is highly recommended. In French, it's called pate brisée and is the most traditional for this dish.

My go-to quiche dough has only four ingredients, flour, salt, butter, and ice water. It's a forgiving crust in its assembly and can be rolled easily.

Make it ahead: it keeps for 3-5 days in the refrigerator or a month in the freezer. Always well wrapped.

The binding cream

Also called the custard mixture or egg mixture, is the glue that makes it all come together, that binds the filling ingredients.

Most traditional recipes use only cream and often include grated cheese.

My version uses part yogurt, making a lighter filling with a slight tang that pairs amazingly well with the add-ins and cuts through the butter and cream.

The leek mushroom mixture

The filling for this vegetarian quiche is simple, and, for the sake of this recipe, I wrote down the quantities, of course. But I usually eyeball it. That's what happens when you make quiche regularly.

I use leeks because they are excellent paired with mushrooms.

But you can use green onions, shallots, yellow onions, or a mix of onions and garlic, with great results. And call it a mushroom quiche.

How to cook the vegetables

In the oven:

This is my favorite way and how I cooked them for this recipe.

Drizzle the sliced vegetables with olive oil in a baking pan until they are softened but still crunchy. This is important because they will continue cooking in the oven once the quiche is assembled.

On the stove:

Melt butter and olive oil in a skillet or pan, throw in the coarsely chopped leeks, sprinkle salt and pepper to taste and cook for a minute or so, just to soften.

Then add chopped mushrooms, turn the heat to high, and don't touch or stir until the mushrooms *just* begin to brown lightly. Drain the liquid before adding them to the crust.

Either way, don't overcook them because they still have some time in the oven to cook further.

Assembling a quiche

Nobody likes a soggy tart. And that is crucial when making a great quiche.

• Add-ins: it's important not to use watery ingredients. Drain any liquid before filling the crust. They might've collected when you cooked the vegetables or because they're frozen.
• Bling baking the pie crust: it's pre-baking the crust with weight on top (pie weights, beans, rice) so that it holds its shape and doesn't shrink. And helps avoid a soggy crust. You can read all about blind baking pie dough.
• Binding cream: add it at the last minute and pour it slowly and as evenly as possible, covering the mushrooms and leeks.

Variations

• Herbs: use them in the pie dough (as we do for the tomato galette) or the filling. Thyme and parsley work very well.
• Different types of mushrooms: such as button mushrooms, shiitakes, portobello, cremini, or other favorite ones.
• Cheese: instead of the gruyere cheese, add grated parmesan, asiago, Reggiano, Swiss cheese, or fontina to the filling.
• Green onions or shallots: use them instead of leeks and change the title of the quiche.
• Gluten-free quiche: use a homemade GF quiche crust or a store-bought one.

Kitchen notes

• Organization: read the recipe first and ensure you have ingredients at the correct temperature, equipment, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier.
• Baking time: consider that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as it can be, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer(like the OXO oven thermometer) to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend you keep track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust. 
• Serving: this mushroom quiche is the perfect thing for lunch with a salad, for a picnic, for a buffet table and, if you make them bite-size, it's a great appetizer to eat while you mingle holding a cocktail in your other hand. So this is one of my favorite foods for New Year's eve casual parties with friends because it is amazing at room temperature as finger food!
• Storing: it stays at room temperature for 2-3 days, in the refrigerator for a week, and frozen for a month. Always well covered in plastic wrap or in an airtight container to avoid dryness.
• Make ahead: you can make the pie crust up to a week ahead and refrigerate it or keep it frozen up to a month. The vegetables can be roasted 2-3 days before assembling the quiche.