Contributed by Perrine Carnot
Perrine is Jivko’s girl. She is sunny and French. She has it in her blood. She will open the (almost) empty refrigerator with a smile and she will come up with an idea for a meal. This is the quiche she made for us in Lille, France.
Shell Pastry
1 3/ 4 c all-purpose flour
5 1/2 oz unsalted butter, chilled and diced
a pinch of salt
1 egg yolk
Filling
1 lb of asparagus, chopped to 1-inch pieces
1 tbs olive oil
3 eggs
1 c heavy cream
8 oz of smoked salmon fish, cut to pieces
1 pinch of nutmeg
salt and black pepper to taste
The options for the fillings are endless: the ever so popular version of Quiche Lorraine is with bacon, my favorite is with walnuts and blue cheese.
Sift the flour and the salt into a mixing bowl, add the butter in little nut-sized pieces, then use your fingers to pinch the butter and flour together. Add the egg yolk and 2-3 tea spoons of cold water and quickly form the dough into a ball, refrigerate for an hour.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling- sautee the vegetables in one tablespoon oil for 5 minutes, set aside to cool. In a bowl whisk the eggs with the cream, season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Gently mix in the vegetables and the salmon.
Preheat the oven to 400° F. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to make a circle 1/ 4-inch thick. Line a buttered pie pan with the dough. Trim the excess pastry dough and pinch the edge to make a border raised above the rim. Prick the bottom with a fork. Line the pastry with crumpled parchment paper and baking beads (or dry beans or rice). Blind bake for 15 minutes. Remove the paper, and beads. Reduce the oven to 350° F. Pour the filling mixture into the pastry shell and bake 30 minutes until it is just set. Serve hot with a large green salad and some cheap, but incredible French table wine.