Mother’s Day is around the corner and we’ve got an extra-special brunch in the works. The highlight of the menu will be Quiche 2 Ways, accompanied by other homemade treats:
*Iced vanilla brown sugar coffee
*Strawberries and cream vanilla sponge cake
*Buttery French crepes
*Aromatic quinoa salad
*Honey apple salad
One quiche will have asparagus, mushroom and feta cheese with fresh herbs and the other will be ham, tomato and tarragon. The flaky crust is a snap to make and has absolutely NO butter in it. Can you believe that? It’s olive oil, so you can feel good about feeding it to your family.
This menu is simple and includes dishes that can be made ahead of time, because I really want to just sit and enjoy spending time with Mom and the rest of my family, for a change.
While this certainly sounds like a tall order, it is quite manageable. These are all tried and true recipes that have never failed me. Most of the work can be done ahead of time -even the crepe batter is better if left to rest in the fridge overnight. The only thing I will be doing on Sunday morning is cooking the crepes.
Making two quiches with homemade crust does sound ambitious, but I have already done this several times. I like to make two flavors at once, because they follow the same basic recipe. I double the recipes for the crust and the custard, then divide them between the two quiches and bake them together. One has an earthy sautéed mushroom, asparagus filling. The feta has fresh herbs chopped and mixed into it. This is readily available at large Armenian/Persian supermarkets, but you can easily make your own using my recipe.
The other quiche is a parmesan-crusted Blackforest ham with homegrown tomatoes. Shawn always has tomato plants in our veggie garden; these tomatoes are just so sweet and flavorful that I can no longer bring myself to buy any from the store! Even if you have a black thumb as I do, you should get a tomato plant. It’s hearty and sill grown in a nice pot on the balcony if you live in an apartment. A bit of fresh tarragon adds a subtle French accent.
These quiches are so easy to make. The hardest part slicing and sautéing the mushrooms during which time the asparagus can be washed and chopped. After that, you simply beat, mix and toss everything into the oven. Pronto! Presto!
Asparagus Mushroom Feta Quiche
Note: If you intend to make both quiches, it is easy to double the crust and custard recipes, divide them between the two and bake them together.
Serves 4-6
2 cups crimini/portobello mushrooms
1 cup herbed feta cheese
Flaky Olive Oil Crust
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
pinch pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup cold water
Transfer flour, salt + pepper into a clean bowl.
Beat olive oil and water together until thick and well combined. (Yes, you can mix oil with water!)
Make a well in center bottom of the bowl and pour the oil/water into the middle.
Using circular motions with the fork, slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet.
Press into a shallow tart pan (Mine are about 10 inches in diameter.).
Either torch the inside of the crust to freeze it into place or pop it into the oven for a min or two.
Separate one egg.
Brush the white over the crusts and transfer to the refrigerator.
Beat the yolk along with 3 whole eggs.
Gently incorporate milk and set aside.
Put a frying pan onto medium-high heat and drizzle a bit of olive oil.
Wash and slice the mushrooms.
Ham Tomato Tarragon Quiche
Quiche Filling
1 cup black forest ham
1 cup ripe tomatoes
2 Tb fresh tarragon (or 2 tsp dried)
3 eggs, 1 separated
3/4 cup milk
1 cup grated parmesan
Flaky Olive Oil Crust
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
pinch pepper
Transfer flour, salt + pepper into a clean bowl.
Make a well in center bottom of the bowl and pour the oil/water into the middle.
Using circular motions with the fork, slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet.
Press into a shallow tart pan (Mine are about 10 inches in diameter.).
Either torch the inside of the crust to freeze it into place or pop it into the oven for a min or two.
Separate one egg.
Brush the white over the crusts and transfer to the refrigerator.
Beat the yolk along with 3 whole eggs.
Gently incorporate milk and set aside.
Wash and chop tomatoes into bite-sized chunks.
Remove the crust from the fridge.
Hi Coco,
Are these quiches part of your mothers' day celebration menu? I'm sure that your mum will be impressed 😀
Zoe
These quiches are beautiful! I just love your pie dishes. I need to invest in one of those. They make such a lovely presentation. I wish you a joyful and relaxing Mother's Day. You'll be ready to put your feet up after preparing ahead of time! 🙂
Both quiches are gorgeous, and I love, ,love, love the photo of the knife with the asparagus rounds!! Happy Mother's Day to you! ~David
Oh Coco these quiches are gorgeous – LOVE the fillings! that is a wonderful menu for Mother's Day – aren't you good to do all that – I'm hoping to get away with sitting on the sofa all day with my nose in book! Have a wonderful day!
Mary
Yes, Z. They're on the menu!
Thanks, Carly. The tart plates are vintage and a gift from Mom. That's why they're so special.
Thanks for the wonderful wishes. Hope Sunday is as lovely for you! xo
Thanks, D! I got a bit artsy with this one. Thanks for the good wishes! Hope you get to enjoy the day w your Mom. xo
Mary, hope your wishes come true on Sunday and you get the pampering you deserve! xo
Hope you have a nice mother's day! I did an early mother's day brunch with my mom last weekend and we also had crepes! But your menu sounds way more ambitious. These quiches look so delicious with their packed veggies:) Lucas just planted some tomato plants and we're crossing our fingers we don't end up killing them!
I LOVE a slice of cold quiche the next day, as long as the crust kind of stays firm, I'm so in.
Wishing you a wonderful Mother's Day. The quiche sounds lovely.
Thanks, Snixy. I'm sure your tomato plants will survive. And once you taste those 'maters, you won't ever want to get them from the supermarket! xo
Yes, that's why I suggest brushing the crust with egg whites. Learned that from Emeril.
Thanks, dear. It was a wonderful day. I was spoiled as usual! xo
This quiche sounds perfect for Mothers day 😀
Delicious cheesy goodness!
By the way, is there anyway I can resubscribe by email my friend?
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
It's at this time of year that we start to eat more quiches with salad and I'm always on the look out for new fillings. These sound wonderful and I have never used olive oil in the crust so I'll give that a try too. Thank you!
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