Quiche

The days have been extremely sleepy and lazy as I have been lying around at home for the past three days and flipping channels on the TV. It's also the reason why I am posting suddenly with a renewed vigor that was absent for sometime now.
To let you all in on some happenings here...I have just managed to take another decision to finally call it quits here and move on to Delhi. Not that I don't like the city, but just like home is where the heart is, the reverse is also true. I think the time has come to move back to one's roots and get back to parents. Funnily, when we are young we try our level best to get as far away from them as we can, and then after some time, you do everything to do the opposite and get as closer to them as possible. Moreover, the opportunity out there is more exciting than the present one and what's life without challenges.
Krithika, I already told you the news yesterday so you cannot call and say you read it here first.
Getting back to the topic of this post, Quiche's a baked dish, which consists of a egg and milk mixture in a pastry crust and some other ingredients like ham, mushrooms, celery other vegetables added in. Both me and my better half are big fans of the Quiche that you get in the Maurya Sheraton Hotel's Mithai Shop....it's amazing. Since we were missing that lovely quiche so much I decided to try it out at home. What came out wasn't as fab, but yes! it did subside that craving for sometime.

Mushroom, Shallot & Cheese Quiche

Ingredients:

For the Crust:
Refined Flour - 1.5 Cup
Butter, cut into cubes (.5 ') - 1/2 Cup
Egg - 1
Salt - 1 Tsp
Water - A Few Drops

For the Filling:
Butter - 2 Tblsp
Mushrooms, quartered & sliced - 1 Cup
Shallots, finely chopped - 1/2 Cup
Gruyere Cheese, grated - 1.5 Cup
Milk - 1/2 Cup
Cream - 1/2 Cup
Thyme, crushed - 3 Tblsp
Eggs - 2
Scallions, sliced - 1/2 Cup
Red bell pepper, Finely Chopped - 1/2
Black Pepper - 2 Tblsp
Salt - To Taste

Method:
For Crust :
1. Sift the flour and the salt together. Add butter and mix with soft hands by rubbing your fingers in the mixture till a coarse meal forms.
2. Add a whisked egg and 1 tsp Cold water to this coarse meal. Knead gently to form a dough.
3. Wrap in plastic and chill for an hour.
4. Take dough and roll it out on a lightly floured surface in a round shape.
5. Take a buttered pan with a removable bottom. Transfer rolled out dough to the pan.
6. Press on the bottom and the sides of the pan. Trim out excess dough.
7. Pre-heat oven to 400 °F. Fill pan with dried beans and bake for 20 mins or until crust is golden.
8. Cool.
For Filling:
1. Melt butter in a skillet. Add in the shallots. Saute till they turn translucent. Will take about 2-3 minutes.
2. Add in the scallions and Red Bell Pepper. Saute for another minute.
3. Add in the mushrooms. Sprinkle salt and pepper. Saute till mushrooms are tender. Will take about 10 minutes.
4. Sprinkle thyme and cook for another minute.
5. Take out on a plate and cool this mixture.
6. Sprinkle some thyme on the crust followed by some grated cheese.
7. Add in the mushroom mixture.
8. Whisk cream, eggs, milk, salt and pepper in a bowl.
9. Pour this mixture over the mushrooms.
10. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese on top.
11. Bake the quiche for 20 minutes at 350 °F or till custard is set.
12. Serve at room temperature.

Posted in: Bakes,Mushrooms,Quiche