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Deep-Dish Quiche with Mushrooms, Bacon, and Gruyère

Source of Recipe

From "The Milk Street Cookbook" by Christopher Kimball


Recipe Introduction

"At Le Pichet, a French brasserie in Seattle, Washington, we rekindled our love for quiche. This recipe is based on the restaurant's formula for creating a quiche that's tall and creamy, yet light and richly flavored. The key is crème fraîche in addition to the heavy cream, along with just the right number of eggs. Baking the quiche on a hot baking steel (or baking stone) obviates the need to prebake the crust (a hassle with most quiche recipes), as the heat from the steel helps brown the bottom crust, thereby staving off sogginess. We're fond of buttery homemade pastry, but if you wish to take a shortcut, stack two refrigerated pie crusts on top of each other, then fold into quarters. Press the dough layers together, shape into a 6-inch disk, wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour. Roll out the dough and line the tart pan or pie plate following the recipe below for pastry for deep-dish quiche."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 2 tablespoons salted butter
â—¦ 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
â—¦ 12 ounces cremini mushrooms, trimmed, halved and thinly sliced
â—¦ Kosher salt and ground black pepper
â—¦ ½ cup dry white wine
â—¦ 6 large eggs
â—¦ 1 cup crème fraîche
â—¦ 1 ½ cups heavy cream
â—¦ â…› teaspoon cayenne pepper
â—¦ â…› teaspoon grated nutmeg
â—¦ All-purpose flour, for dusting
â—¦ Pastry for deep-dish quiche, shaped into a disk and chilled (recipe follows)
â—¦ 6 ounces sliced Canadian bacon, cut into ¼-inch pieces
â—¦ 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh tarragon
â—¦ 6 ounces Gruyère cheese, shredded (1 ½ cups)


Recipe

About one hour before baking, heat the oven to 450° F with a baking steel or stone on the middle rack. In a nonstick 12-inch skillet over medium-high, melt the butter. Add the onion, mushrooms and ¾ teaspoon salt, then cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid released by the mushrooms has evaporated, the onions are softened and the mixture browns, 12 to 15 minutes. Add the wine and cook, stirring, until fully evaporated, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl and cool completely.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the crème fraîche and whisk until thoroughly combined. Add the cream, cayenne, nutmeg, and ½ teaspoon each salt and black pepper, then whisk until well blended. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Lightly flour the counter. Mist a 9-inch-round by 2-inch-deep tart pan with a removable bottom or a deep-dish glass pie plate with cooking spray. Unwrap the pastry disk and set it on the floured surface. If the dough is too firm to roll, let it stand for 10 to 20 minutes. Dust the surface of the dough with flour and, using a rolling pin, roll it to a 14-inch round about â…› inch thick, rotating often and dusting with flour as needed to prevent sticking.

Fold the dough round in half, then in half again, forming a wedge. Transfer the dough to the tart pan or pie plate, positioning the tip of the wedge at the center. Unfold the dough, then carefully ease it into the corners and up the sides of the pan or plate, allowing the excess to extend past the edge. If using a tart pan, roll the rolling pin across the top of the pan to trim off the excess dough, then set the pan on a large plate (so the pan is easier to handle); if using a pie plate, fold and crimp the edges of the dough. Refrigerate uncovered for at least 1 hour or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day.

Stir the bacon and tarragon into the cooled mushroom mixture. Distribute the mixture evenly in the chilled pastry, then top with the cheese. Set the tart pan or pie plate on a rimmed baking sheet. Slowly pour in the egg-cream mixture, allowing it to seep in; the pan will be very full. Carefully slide the baking sheet onto the hot baking steel, then immediately reduce the oven to to 350° F. Bake until the quiche jiggles slightly at only the center, 55 to 65 minutes (the center should reach 165° to 170° F); lay a sheet of foil over the quiche if the surface browns too much. Transfer the quiche from the baking sheet directly to a wire rack and cool until barely warm to the touch, about 2 hours. If you've used a tart pan, carefully remove the outer ring, then return the quiche (still on the pan bottom) to the rack. Cool completely.

Makes 8 to 10 servings






� Pastry for Deep-Dish Quiche:

"We highly recommend using a 9-inch-round and 2-inch-deep metal tart pan with fluted sides and a removable bottom. The metal is a good conductor of heat so the crust browns nicely, even without prebaking. A deep-dish glass pie plate (such as Pyrex) will get the job done, but the crust will not brown as well."

â—¦ 1 ¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
â—¦ 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
â—¦ 12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) cold salted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
â—¦ 5 tablespoons ice water

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Add the butter and toss, separating any stuck-together cubes, until evenly coated. Freeze uncovered for 10 minutes.

Transfer the chilled flour-butter mixture to a food processor. Pulse until the butter chunks are about the size of peas, 10 to 12 pulses. Add the water and process until the mixture forms clumps but does not come together in a ball, 20 to 25 seconds.

Turn the dough out onto the counter and press it into a disk about 6 inches wide. Wrap tightly in plastic, smoothing out any ragged edges. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.

Makes one 9-inch-round deep-dish pastry