Tomato, Spinach & Mushroom Quiche

The day I arrived in the US, the whole day went travelling from Boston to the tiny university town of Hanover, and of course settling into my home after the whole drama of being abandoned at the bus station. The person who was supposed to meet me never did end up coming and I skeptically accepted the help of a family who were only too happy to load up my suitcases into their crowded car and take me around to collect my keys and finally to my house. I’m not saying where I lived is full of crimes, but we surely have our fair share, enough to make me hold my handbag tight when I walk down the road. Their kind help was a surreal experience for me, only one of many the next three years that I spent in the beautiful town. The next came not more than a few hours later when a neighbour stopped mid-dinner to walk me to the nearest restaurant so that I wouldn’t get lost. I had no network on the new number that I had picked up at the airport and I had no skills to connect to the college wifi without further instructions. I knocked on his door for a recommendation and some directions, but he insisted on walking me there himself. Audaciously, I thought maybe he was looking for a chance to hit on me. I mean seriously, who stops their meal to walk a neighbour down. The town was 4 streets, all connected with each other. Turns out, I was so terribly wrong. People are just that amazing! It’s the kind of town where you don’t lock your door at night.  If you leave your belongings somewhere and come back in a few hours, it’s still going to be there. Someone might have moved it so that it doesn’t sit in the sun anymore, but it will still be there. Man, I love that town. 

The second day, I ditched technology once and for all and settled in with a physical map. This was the first time I was travelling out of my country and I loved the idea of walking down the road with a map in my hand and music in my ears. I was going to explore the whole town!! It took an hour. Well.. not exactly, but you get my point. There are no cabs, everyone walks everywhere or takes the free public transport that runs around towns and to the neighbouring towns. The town sits in a valley, on the banks of the Connecticut river, adjoining Vermont on the other side. In fact, the border line between the two states actually runs in the middle of the river. I walked up to the observatory and down around the physics department, past the library tower, and down to the Connecticut river where I sat back, pulled out my kindle, dipped my toes into the icy water, and enjoyed the sun. 

My stomach grumbled, reminding me to get something to eat. Plus my feet were getting prunish. I walked the steep steps back up to the Thayer School of Engineering and then down Tuck Drive to get to Main Street where all the shops and restaurants were. Ambling down the street, I got distracted by a small store which sold all sorts of posters, records, old comic books and what not. As I walked in, I knew I was going down a rabbit hole. I was lost in there for more than an hour! When I finally came out with a few posters, a couple of magnets, a comic book, and a record (mind you, I didn’t even have a record player at that point,) I was starving! I turned and right next to me was a pretty restaurant with beautiful iron tables laid out in the sun. I chose one without an umbrella, taking full advantage of the sun and when the waitress came with a menu, ordered for the quiche of the day, crispy bacon on the side, and a cup of hot lemon tea. I folded my legs under me and settled back to my book, but I had barely finished a couple of pages before my food arrived. 

The slice of quiche was so perfectly set and golden brown on top, glistening in the sunlight and the smell of bacon was so enticing that I couldn’t wait to get started. Creamy cheesy ham and eggs with a flaky, crumbly pie crust. Oh man, I could’ve had a dozen of them! Thankfully, my wallet had the good sense to stop me. I ordered one more for the road (which served as my dinner.) They gave me a sense of comfort in a new world. 

After that, I became so obsessed with quiches that everywhere I went, I had a standard order. It also didn’t help that American food portions were so big that I always ended up wasting the full meal. Quiches were the perfect portion for a nibbler like me. Even though Hanover was a small town, in bakeries, it was plentiful. As much as I learnt how to write a novella, I also studied the best places one could get quiches in town. The Dirt cowboy cafe had a small spinach and mushroom quiche that blew my mind. Hanover’s revered Lou’s bakery experimented with cauliflower crusts that intrigued me so. The King Arthur Cafe at the Dartmouth library had some amazing selections that they rotated. Ham and bacon, mushroom and cheddar, spinach and corn, bacon egg and cheese, broccoli and cheddar, my favourite of which was their roasted peppers quiche and I don’t even like peppers. Ever since I knew Ni, I’ve been dropping my peppers on his plate, but the quiche was so amazing that not only did I not mind the peppers, but enjoyed the sweet juiciness from the roast. 

One of my early lessons in the kitchen was learning how to make a quiche. I was in this phase of eager learning and anything I saw in cafes or markets, I’d decide to make at home. Moreover, I was just getting to know Ni at that time and was desperately trying to impress him, but you know, in a cool way. Ni is the biggest fan of quiches that I know. If my husband could have one dish that he takes with him when stuck on a deserted island, it would be quiche. Spinach & feta, ham & bacon, roasted peppers & broccoli, any which way, he loves it. Boy, did I feed him a lot of quiches. Master that I thought I was in pies (after one successful apple pie,) I ended up with a bunch of soggy crusted quiches, a couple of runny quiches, and a few oily ones too.  

When you understand it, the key to a good pie crust is quite simple actually. The idea is to get a light, flaky crust that is not oily, but buttery. That flavour and texture comes not just from butter, but shortening as well and keeping both of them cold. Shortening has a higher melting point and therefore helps create the flaky layers, while the butter provides the flavour. It has to be cold because you want them to melt as slowly as possible, giving the flour time to create the base and layers. When the fat starts melting between the layers, it makes the layers flake. When you are bringing the dough together.

So let’s talk pie crust. Four main ingredients, flour, butter, water and of course, salt to flavour it and the chant for pie crusts is “keep it cold”. Everything. Freezer cold butter, water with ice and the resting periods in the fridge. 

2 things to remember when it comes to pie crusts:

#1 Use super cold butter. See, cold. 

#2 Don’t overwork the flour. You want the crust to be light and flaky and not glutenous. 

Once it comes together, cover it up with cling wrap and rest the dough in the fridge for about half an hour to cool it back and then roll it out into a circle, making sure you keep the surface smooth and even. Once you think you have the right size for your pan, roll it gently onto your pin and place it in the pan. Adjust along the sides and crimp the edges. Some people suggest using another strip of dough along the edge to give it a nice thick, beautiful crimp. Cover this with a cling wrap and put it back into the fridge. You want the butter to be as cold as possible so that it is not the first thing to melt when you put the pie in the oven. This will only give you an oily crust (I’ve had my share of those too!) When you put a cold pie crust in the oven, the dough hardens up before the butter starts melting and when it does, it’ll stay locked in, creating those flaky layers. 

Quiches require blind baking. This is where the pie crust first goes alone into the oven to get half cooked and then once again with all the fillings. This is to make sure that the egg has no place to run, giving you dry quiches. For the first time, the pie is weighted down to make sure it doesn’t puff up, leaving no space for the fillings. You could get ceramic pie weights in the market or if you are looking for something in the house, I’d suggest raw (not from a can) garbanzo beans/channa or even uncooked rice. Another thing that works is US pennies as they are good conductors of heat. Wash them before laying down a parchment paper on the pie and lining it with the pennies (or any other weight of your choosing.) Into the oven it goes for 25 minutes. After 15 minutes remove the pie weight and parchment paper, poke some holes and back into the oven it goes for the remaining 10 mins. 

For the filling, all you need are eggs, cream, milk, cheese (it’s a dairy melt pot!) and any veggies or meat of your choosing. Just remember, when you are using veggies like mushrooms or even peppers, they retain a lot of water. So cook them down and remove all that water before adding them to the quiche. You don’t want it to mess with the creamy consistency of a quiche. Season the egg mixture with salt and pepper. Pour the filling into the cooked pie crust and into the oven it goes for 35-40 minutes. The center should still be just a tiny bit giggly, like a cheesecake. If at any point you feel like your crimped edges are browning too much, just cover them with a strip of foil. 

Let the pie rest on the counter for about 5 minutes before cutting into it. Enjoy your fresh baked quiche with a small salad or my personal favourite, roasted brussels sprouts. 

Even today, when I make quiches, it reminds me of the warm sunny day, sitting outside on the iron chairs, reading my kindle, enjoying a beautiful breakfast, a new experience in a new country. 

AuthorPriyanka Sivaramakrishnan

Rating