Mushroom and Shallot Quiche

Little Thumbs Up : Baking and Cooking event, selected ingredient for the month of May is "MUSHROOMS"

Little Thumbs Up, is an event organized by Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids and Doreen from my little favourite D.I.Y. , where an ingredient is selected each month and everyone is welcome to join in by using the selected ingredient either in your bakes or in your cooking pot. I am the host for this month, and my selected ingredient is "MUSHROOMS". Please do join us, cook or bake any recipes using Mushrooms as one of its ingredient, post it in your blog within this month, (only new and current posts), and link to Little Thumbs Up, in the thumbnail linky which is provided at the bottom of this post. To find out more details on Little Thumbs Up, please click here.

While this month's theme is MAY : MUSHROOMS, the selected ingredient for June is Curry Powder or Paste and will be hosted by Everybody Eats Well In Flanders. Cook  or bake any of your favourite curry dish, and link that up in June which shall start on 4th June.

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White Button Mushrooms

White button mushrooms are very popular in the United States, it represent about 90% of mushrooms consumed in the U.S.  These mushrooms have a very mild taste and the flavours intensifies when cooked. They can be sauteed and cooked in any way, and even eaten raw in salads. A serving of 4 to 5 white button provides 18 calories, 0 gram of fats and 3 gram of carbohydrates. It is a good source of antioxidant selenium, the B vitamin riboflavin, niacin and pantothenic acid, copper, 300gm of potassium per serving. 

While those info above are very informative, and I would probably could not remember all that in the next minute, what I do know is these mushrooms are so delicious, sauteed and use as a quiche filling!  Yum!

Mushroom and Shallots Quiche, so good!

Quiche is one of my most favourite savoury pastry. Especially if it has bacon or ham in it! Both bacon or ham, makes everything tastes so much yummier! This recipe does not call for either ham or bacon, but I have added in some ham chips, just because!

And I have used more shallots than the recipes calls for.

The pastry is a little difficult to work with, it is very soft, refrigerate it until firm and work quickly, very quickly! But then it is worth the effort! I made a full batch of the pastry and kept half of it in the freezer, for another one of my quiche days!

This is so good! The mushrooms, ham, cheese and shallots are so delicious together!

I'm linking this post to Little Thumbs Up event, hosted by Joyce, kitchen flavours, organized by Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids and Doreen for my little favourite D.I.Y.

To join us, simply bake or cook any recipes using the ingredient for this month MUSHROOM.  Submit your post by linking to the thumbnail linky provided at the bottom of this post. 

• Your submission must be a current and new post.
• Mention Little Thumbs Up in your post, and submit your post to the thumbnail linky to the host of this month, Joyce from kitchen flavours, and link to Bake For Happy Kids, and my little favourite D.I.Y. 
• Feel free to display Little Thumbs Up badge in your post.
• Last date of linking will be on 31st May 2013.

Mushroom and Shallots Quiche
(adapted from "Martha Stewart's New Pies & Tarts")
All purpose flour, for dusting
1/2 recipe Pate Brisee (refer recipe below)
Mushroom and Shallot Filling (refer recipe below)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk (I did not use the extra egg yolk)
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1-1/2 cups grated Gruyere cheese (I use Cheddar)

1. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a 14-inch round, about 1/8 inch thick. Fit it into a 10-inch round fluted tart panb with a removable bottom, gently pressing dough to fit. With a small knife or rolling pin, trim excess dough flush with rim. Pierce bottom of shell all over with a fork. Refrigerate or freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 375F. Line shell with parchment, and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until crust is beginning to brown at edges, about 30 minutes. Remove parchment and weights; bake until bottom of crust is dry but not yet golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes more. Transfer shell to a wire rack to cool slightly.
3. Meanwhile, make the filling of your choice, then prepare the custard ; In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, cream, eggs, and yolk until combined, then whisk in nutmeg and season with salt and pepper.
4. Place tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle half the cheese evenly over bottom of crust. Sprinkle with filling, then top with remaining cheese. Carefully pour custard over cheese. Bake until just set in the center, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool at least 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Mushroom and Shallot Filling
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 shallots, thinly sliced (I used about 4-5)
1 pound white button mushrooms, quartered (I use only 1/2 pound, about 200gm)
150gm chopped ham (my addition)
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Heat oil in a large skillet over high. Cook shallots, stirring constantly, until translucent, about 1 minute. Add mushrooms (and ham bits, if using) and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are dark golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. (Mushrooms will release liquid at first; cook until it has evaporated, adjusting heat as necessary). Transfer to a bowl, and let cool slightly.


For the Crust :
Pate Brisee
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt (omitted this as I've used salted butter)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

1. Pulse flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor (or whisk together by hand in a bowl). Add butter, and pulse (or quickly cut in with a pastry blender of your fingertips) until mixture resembles coarse meal, with some larger pieces remaining. Drizzle 1/4 cup water over mixture. Pulse (or mix with a fork) until mixture just begins to hold together. If dough is too dry, add 1/4 cup more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse (or mix with a fork).
2. Divide dough in half onto two pieces of plastic wrap. Gather into two balls, wrap loosely in plastic, and press each into a disk using a rolling pin. Refrigerate until firm, well wrapped in plastic, 1 hour or up to 1 day. (Dough can be frozen up to 3 months; thaw in refrigerator before using).

kitchen flavours notes :
When mixing in the cold water, start with 3 tablespoons first, adding 1 tablespoons at a time until mixture just begins to hold together. In total, I only used about 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon of ice water.

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