Mushroom and goat cheese quiche
Great for brunch...or any time
I typically serve quiche for brunch, although my family will happily eat it at any meal.
This is a really nice recipe to whip up using simple, savory ingredients. I love the combination of goat cheese with onions and mushrooms and cook with them often.
I used a prebought store crust for this recipe as I adore short cuts. “Mostly homemade” is homemade to me. Anything I can do to make cooking easier for both myself and my readers is a bonus.
If you would like to use your own pastry, simply prepare one pie crust in a pie plate. The egg and cream mixture bakes up fluffy and soft and is simply a pleasure to eat.
Ingredients:
1 large onion, finely chopped
12 ounces of white mushrooms, washed and sliced
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
4 large eggs, room temperature
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup whole milk
1 teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
4 ounces of goat cheese
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
Set the eggs on the counter an hour before you begin to prepare the quiche; remove the frozen pie crust from the freezer, and allow it to defrost for about half an hour. The bottom crust will cook better if you don’t put freezing-cold pastry straight into the oven.
Chop the onions and wash and slice the mushrooms. You can use fancier mushrooms if you please, but I advise against using portobello mushrooms because they are too meaty for this recipe.
Set your oven temperature to 375 F, and place your oven rack in the middle of the oven.
Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat, and add the diced onions. Sauté for 10-15 minutes, stirring every few minutes. When the onions start to look translucent, add the last tablespoon of butter and the mushrooms. Stir it well to be sure that the mushrooms are evenly coated in butter, and sauté for another 10 minutes until they are soft and cooked through. The mushrooms and onions will reduce quite a bit as they are cooking.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the eggs for a few minutes by hand until they have some nice frothy bubbles across the top.
Add in 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese with the milk and heavy cream, whisking until nicely combined. Don’t use low-fat dairy replacements — you’ll be sacrificing the desired flavor and texture for what is just a slight caloric difference.
Cut up about 4 ounces of goat cheese and place the pieces atop of the mushroom mixture. I usually buy a 10-ounce package of goat cheese and use the rest at another meal. Goat cheese can come in random sizes like 3-ounce, 4-ounce or 6-ounce packages. If the package available for you is 3-ounce, just use that — don’t feel the need to purchase a second package for an extra ounce of cheese.
Gently pour the egg mixture evenly over the mushroom mixture until the egg mixture hits the lowest part of the fluted crust. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese, which will create a firmer “crust” across the top during baking. Don’t overfill the pie plate. I find that store-bought crusts hold a little less than a homemade crust, for which you can create more depth by bringing the fluted crust up higher in the pan.
This recipe makes enough filling for a deeper quiche. You may have about half-cup of egg mixture left if you’re using a store-bought crust. When that happens to me, I just put the excess into a buttered ramekin and make a little souffle snack.
Place a baking sheet under the quiche to avoid a messy oven in case of leaks.
Bake for 35 minutes at 375 F, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 F and continue to bake for an additional 10 minutes or until the top starts to turn golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving warm.
This recipe tastes great at room temperature, so it’s a really nice addition for a brunch or Shabbat lunch meal if you wish to make it ahead.
Enjoy and bless your hands! PJC
Jessica Grann is a home chef living in Pittsburgh.
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