I used to think of quiche as a dull, beige pastry which got wheeled out from old cookery books from time to time and no one was particularly fussed about it. Turns out I was wrong. It’s a most excellent pastry. I cooked my smoked salmon and broccoli quiche a few weeks ago, divided it up and froze it in wedges. Now I’m working from home I love to have something interesting for lunch. When it’s quiche day, it’s the best day of the week.
The freshness of the broccoli and spinach combined with the flavourful smoked salmon is a winning combination. It feels rather luxurious to have it for lunch.
Top Tips
You’ll need some baking beans to blind bake the pastry. If you don’t have any, just weigh the pastry down with some raw rice or lentils and it will work just as well.
My pastry tends to shrink a little as it cooks so I leave the excess pastry overhanging the tin. It doesn’t look as neat but I quite like the rustic look of it. And also I don’t waste any pastry.
The smoked salmon is quite salty so hardly any extra salt is needed for the pastry or the egg filling.
Drain the broccoli really well and give the spinach a proper squeeze. The less water left on the vegetables the better, no one wants the dreaded soggy bottom.
Variations
There are so many different variations on this smoked salmon and broccoli quiche. One of the next things I will try will be adding a little butter and nutmeg to the spinach as it wilts.
I think almost any vegetables would work here as long as they were cooked, dry and chopped. Asparagus or peas, mushrooms or peppers; I reckon cauliflower or beetroot would be great too.
Using smoked salmon does give this quiche a great flavour but leftover cooked salmon or smoked bacon would work nicely too. A cooked smoked white fish, like haddock, would certainly be worth a try.
I didn’t add any cheese to this recipe, I don’t think it needs it, but a sprinkle of cheddar in the egg mixture would be lovely.
Smoked Salmon and Broccoli Quiche
Equipment
- 20cm loose bottomed tart tin
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 120 g plain flour
- 60 g butter cold
- 2 tbsp cold water you might not need all of this
For the filling
- 150 g smoked salmon cut into strips
- Handful spinach
- 120 g broccoli cut into small florets
- 2 large eggs
- 200 ml double cream
- salt and pepper
Instructions
To make the pastry
- Rub the butter into the flour until you have a breadcrumb texture. Add the water a little at a time to form a dough. Knead lightly then wrap in clingfilm and put in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Lightly flour a worktop and roll the pastry out so it's a little bigger than a 20cm tart tin. You need to have enough pastry to go up the edges with a little overhang. Prick the base all over with a fork then return the pastry to the fridge for another 30 minutes.
- Preheat an oven to 190C. Remove the pastry from the fridge and place a sheet of baking paper onto the pastry; it needs to go up the sides too. Fill the pastry case with baking beans (see notes below). Put the tart case into the oven for 15 minutes to blind bake. Remove the case from the oven, carefully remove the baking beans and paper then return the case to the oven for another five minutes to crisp up.
- The pastry case is then ready to use as below.
To make the quiche
- While the pastry case cooks you can get the filling ready.
- Steam the broccoli over a pan of boiling water until it's almost cooked, anywhere from two to five minutes depending on how big the florets are. Drain well and put to one side.
- Add the spinach to a small pan on a medium heat and leave to wilt. Once the spinach has wilted, squeeze any excess water out by pressing the spinach against the side of the pan with a spoon. Put to one side.
- In a small bowl, combine the eggs, double cream, a little salt and plenty of black pepper.
- When the pastry case is ready remove it from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 180C.
- Put the smoked salmon, broccoli and spinach into the tart case. Pour over the egg mixture. Return the quiche to the oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown on top and there's still a slight wobble in the middle.
- You can serve the quiche warm from the oven, leave it to cool, or cut into six wedges and freeze them individually.
Notes
Pin my Smoked Salmon and Broccoli Quiche for later!
Indeed a luxurious meal! I love a good savoury pastry with a bowl of steaming hot soup for lunch, esp. when the weather is chilly.
That’s a great idea Angie, I haven’t served it with soup yet!
I could eat this every day. Seriously.
Me too. I have to ration my freezer portions so I don’t eat it all in a week!
My crust always shrink as it bakes, too, so I also leave a bit extra. And it does look rather rustic, doesn’t it? Anyway, this looks terrific — haven’t made a quiche in ages and ages. Lovely flavors in yours — thanks.
Thanks John. I do like the finished look, you can definitely tell it’s homemade.
So tasty lunch worth of every minute of my time ! Pinned, needless to say 🙂
Thank you!
One of my favorite quiche ingredients is smoked salmon. I’ve not tried freezing them. What a great idea and one I’ll incorporate soon. Thanks for sharing…
No problem Ron!
This is a great reminder for us to keep quiche in our minds! They are good, don’t have to be “beige,” and they aren’t difficult to make! Love this, Caroline!
Exactly David! This one certainly wasn’t beige!
YUM!! This sounds like a new favorite for breakfast or lunch! I’m thinking of making a crustless version!!!
I hear ya about having something interesting for lunch since we’ve been working from home. This quiche definitely sounds interesting – I love smoked salmon, and I love quiche…so I think it’s safe to say I would love the combination!
I love the idea of smoked salmon in a quiche – so much flavor that you don’t need much for a wonderful flavor! Such a pretty quiche, too! Yum!