Crab Quiche

I received a copy of the classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking for my birthday and while I've enjoyed flipping through it, I'm sad to say I haven't really put it to good use. This recipe should be a reminder not to let good resources go to waste. It's a simple, straight-forward recipe that tastes amazingly rich (thanks to cream, crab, and cheese). Now you could use a pre-made pastry base, but the recipe included in the book is too good to pass up. It's rich and flaky with a perfect texture. It also rolls out like a breeze. The original calls for a mixture of butter and vegetable shortening. We don't have shortening, so I substituted lard.

One year ago: Cabbage and Cucumber Slaw with Roasted Peanuts
Two years ago: Ninfa's Red Sauce
Three years ago: Broccoli, Red Pepper, and Cheese Chowder

Crab Quiche (from Mastering the Art of French Cooking)

Ingredients
Crust
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
6 tbsp butter
2 1/4 tbsp lard (or vegetable shortening)
4 1/2 tbsp water
3/8 tsp salt
pinch of sugar
Filling
2 tbsp minced shallots or green onions
3 tbsp butter
1/4 lb cooked crab or diced cooked shrimp or lobster
1/4 tsp salt
pinch of pepper
2 tbsp madeira or dry white vermouth
3 eggs
1 cup whipping cream
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup grated Swiss cheese

1. Place flour, salt, sugar, butter, and lard in large mixing bowl. With a pastry blender or your fingers mix until fat is broken into pieces the size of oatmeal flakes.
2. Add water and blend into a mass of dough.
3. Place dough on lightly floured pastry board. With the heel of one hand, press pastry into a smear. Gather the dough back into a mass, knead into a ball, and wrap in wax paper. Place in freezer for 1 hour or in fridge for 2 hours or up to overnight.
4. Roll dough until it is thin enough to be placed into a 8 or 9" tart pan. Fold dough edges around pan.
5. Place quiche dough in oven until oven is preheated to 400F.
6. Prick bottom of quiche with fork. Cover with aluminum foil. Weight down with beans or pie weights. Bake for 8 - 9 minutes.
7. Remove foil and weights and prick pastry a few more times with weights. Cook another 2 - 3 minutes.
8. Reduce oven temperature to 375F.
9. Meanwhile, cook shallots in butter for 1 - 2 minutes over moderate heat in a medium frying pan until tender.
10. Add crab to onions and warm for a couple of minutes. Sprinkle on salt and pepper.
11. Add wine to crab and boil for a moment. Allow to cool slightly.
12. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs with cream, tomato paste, and seasonings.
13. Blend in crab. Pour mixture into pastry shell, sprinkle with cheese, and bake for 30 minutes until quiche has puffed and browned.

Spinach Quiche

I'm becoming convinced that at least half of the recipes I try are found solely because I want to use up ingredients.  In this case, the Metro only had a giant box of organic spinach (about 500g) and not the usual smaller size.  The spinach was reaching the end of its life span and I couldn't bear to see it go to waste, so I needed something that used a lot of spinach ... and smitten kitchen came to my rescue.  The recipe calls for frozen spinach, but I used fresh and just cooked it down a little first.  I went a little heavy (as usual) on the gruyere cheese  and a little light on the Parmesan and was not disappointed.  All in all, a delicious way to use up a lot of spinach!

Spinach Quiche (from Smitten Kitchen) (Adapted from Adapted from Bon Appetit, October 1991)

Ingredients

1/2 cup + 1tbsp cream cheese (or 1 3oz package if you're in the US), room temperature
1/3 cup milk
3 eggs
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1/2 cup grated gruyere (I adore the smoked gruyere)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
4 to 6 green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper 
1 pie crust


1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Beat cream cheese in medium bowl until smooth. Gradually beat in milk and eggs. Mix in remaining ingredients.
3. Pour mixture into prepared crust.
4. Bake until crust is golden brown and filling is set, about 25 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before serving.

Leek, Ham, and Cheese Quiche

I have a confession to make ... I've never made a quiche on my own before and I wasn't even sure if I liked leeks when I made this recipe.  I don't think quiches are very popular in the South ... or maybe it's just Texas.  I can't remember ever having a quiche when I was little or even noticing them in the store.  Maybe I was oblivious though.  Clearly, this recipe is not healthy, but it is delicious.  I stacked the deck against this recipe and made it ahead of time (on a night of cooking madness when I made 3 recipes), then tried to reheat it in the stove, only to get impatient, cut into it, and realize it wasn't fully heated.  One minute in the microwave and it was perfect for eating.  But, even after all of that abuse, it was amazingly good.  The perfect end to a long day at work and the first snow of the season (I'm not counting the flurries a week or two ago that could have been written off as imaginary) and the unhealthiness can almost be justified by the body design class today.

I found my pie tin was too small and I couldn't use all of the ham and I overflowed the cream mixture, so try to find a deep pie tin if you can.  I left off the onion, just because I don't like the texture, but feel free to add it back in!

Leek, Ham, and Cheese Quiche (from Smitten Kitchen) (from Le Pain Quotidien)

Ingredients

2 leeks, diced
2 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Salt
6 tablespoons butter, diced
4 eggs, divided
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sour cream
Pinch nutmeg
Pinch pepper
1 1/2 cups diced ham (1/4 -inch dice; about 250g)
3/4 cup grated Swiss cheese

1. Heat a large sauté pan over low heat. Sauté the leeks in the olive oil 30 to 40 minutes until caramelized, occasionally stirring. Remove from heat and cool.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch and one-fourth teaspoon salt. Cut the butter in with a pastry blender, fork or two knives until it is in very tiny bits. Add one egg and mix it until a dough forms.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a 12-inch circle. Place the dough in a 9-inch pie plate and press to remove any air bubbles. (I was having difficulty rolling ... nothing was going right for me on this cooking night! ... and found the dough a little dry.  Then, I remembered when I helped Sophie make quiches that she just kind of spread it around the dish without this step, so I think you can cheat here.)  Crimp the edges, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
4. While the quiche shell chills, mix the heavy cream and sour cream in a medium bowl. Whisk in the remaining three eggs. Add a pinch each nutmeg, salt and pepper and combine to form a batter. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
5. Remove the quiche shell from the refrigerator and spread the leeks evenly over the base. Sprinkle the ham and then the cheese over the leeks. Pour in the batter and place the quiche in the oven.
6. Bake until puffed and golden, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool slightly on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.