Mushroom and Pasta Quiche

If you have never made a quiche before, it’s time you try! I’m sure that by now you have mastered the art of making the perfect puff pastry. Now all you got to do is fill it with whatever you like, top it with cheese and bake it!

Mushrooms go beautifully with spinach and ricotta cheese, but that is a very common combination of ingredients. So mine is a bit different in that, it also has some cooked pasta in it, making it a whole meal. I have used whole wheat pasta, but use whatever you have at home. I use white wine to flavour many of my recipes, including this one, but spare it if you would prefer to. For non-mushroom lovers, try aubergine and olives with mozzarella cheese or mashed potatoes and tarragon/sage with cheddar.

Serves: 6 pieces

Preparation time: 30min

Cooking time: 1 hour 30 min

Ingredients

For the puff pastry

1 cup flour

25 g salted butter

¼ tsp salt

Sour cream/fresh cream as per requirement (about ¼ cup)

Others: Baking tin, parchment paper, blind weights (kidney beans or any other)

For the filling

Mushrooms, chopped medium

1 red onion, halved and sliced

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped medium

1 garlic pod, roasted as described in the bench notes below

½ cup white wine

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

1tbsp salted butter

½ tsp red chilli flakes

Ground black pepper

A pinch of nutmeg powder

Any pasta cooked as per instructions on the pack

1 cup grated cheese (any cheese will do)

1 egg, whisked

¼ cup fresh cream/ full cream milk

A pinch of sugar

Salt to taste

Method

Make the puff pastry as mentioned in the recipe that I have already posted. After blind baking, remove the puff pastry from the oven and allow to stand on the platform till you make the filling.

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Heat butter in a wide non-stick saucepan. Add the roasted garlic. Add a sprig of rosemary. Allow the garlic to brown. Add 1 tsp olive oil. To this add the chopped onions and sauté till they caramelize. Add the chopped mushrooms. Add salt to taste. Stir well. Deglaze the saucepan with white wine, and simmer for 2 min. Now add the chopped yellow bell pepper, ground black pepper, a pinch of sugar, a pinch of nutmeg, red chilli flakes, and salt to taste (if necessary). Remove from flame. Let cool for 5 min. Now add the cooked pasta, half the grated cheese, one whisked egg and cream. Stir till all ingredients are well combined. Ladle the filling into the puff pastry shell and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 30min, making sure the cheese has melted and browned.

Allow to cool for 5 min. Remove the quiche from the baking tray, slice and serve warm.

Bench notes

For recipe on how to make puff pastry see here.

Roasted garlic: Take a whole garlic pod (do not peel); smear it with a mixture of olive oil, butter, salt, pepper, and some fresh thyme. Roast in a preheated oven at 180°C for 15-20 or until browned and soft from within. Remove peel and crush with the back of a spoon to make a rough paste.