Thursday, September 27, 2012

Salmon Quiche - perfect for a dairy Shabbat breakfast or lunch

In this quiche, I used a bit of spinach I had in the refrigerator.  It is not included in the recipe below as it is not necessary.


First, the crust. I use a 9"/23cm quiche pan.  I have been using frozen, parve short crust as it is readily available.  You can use any short crust pasty recipe that you enjoy or even perhaps the following:

Crust: 

1       cup all-purpose flour
1/2     teaspoon salt
1/3    cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening, margarine or butter
2       to 3 tablespoons (60-90ml) cold water


Alternatively, you can use frozen shortcrust pastry - thawed


Mix flour with salt.  Cut shortening into flour mixture until the shortening is about the size of small peas.  Do not over-work this important part - you want flaky crust.  Add cold water and stir with a fork.  If the dough is too dry and does not stick together, then add a few more drops of water.  Wrap in plastic and chill while cleaning up or for about 15 minutes or so.

Roll out into a circle a few inches larger than your pie pan or removable-bottomed quiche pan.  Place into pan and crimp edges to make it pretty. Make little prick marks with a fork or add pie weights to keep the crust from puffing up at this point.  Pop this into the oven (350°F/175°C) for about 5-8 minutes - this helps to prevent the bottom crust from being soggy.  You do not want to completely bake it - just temper it a bit.

Now, for the quiche mixture:

Ingredients:
3-4 eggs, depending upon size
One can evaporated (not condensed!) soy milk or 12 oz milk, soy milk (or other liquid milk alternative)**
1 Tbsp freshly chopped tarragon/1tsp dried tarragon leaves
200gm/7oz smoked salmon (lox), chopped
1/2-3/4 cup cheese
2 Tbsp. Capers, optional but nice
Freshly cracked pepper
Salt to taste (may not be necessary as the salmon is usually salty enough)
Sliced Fresh Tomatoes - either full sized ones or nice cherry tomatoes

**Some people do not combine liquid milk and fish.  I don't mind in a cooked dish.  Therefore, I often use regular milk if I do not have evaporated milk, and simply add an extra egg. 

Method:
In a milchig bowl, beat three extra large eggs, checked (or four regular sized eggs) well.  Add one can of evaporated milk (375ml/12oz standard can) and beat together.  Snip up some fresh tarragon - about a Tablespoon - or use one teaspoon of dried tarragon leaves.  Mix again.

Check the pie crust if you have forgotten about it! ;)

Add to the milk/egg mixture the following:

200gm/7oz smoked salmon (lox), chopped up a bit.
  *I use 'cooking salmon' as it is made from off-cuts and you can find it quite reasonable on sale and freeze it for later.  Photo below.
1/2-3/4 cup cheese - I often use a mixture of what ever I have here - cheddar (white, rennet-less), mozzarella, etc. 
Capers - about 2 Tbsp, if you can find kosher ones.  Quite nice, actually.
Freshly cracked black or mixed pepper
Salt - careful with the salt as the salmon is quite salty.  You should not need much.

Mix the above all together and pour into 9"/23cm quiche pan.



Top with fresh sliced tomatoes. 

Bake in oven (350°F/175°C) for about 25 minutes - I have a fan forced/convection oven - your timing might be about 5 minutes longer.  When a knife comes out clean, remove quiche from oven and cool on a rack.

This delicious quiche can be eaten hot, after cooling for about 5 minutes, or can be cooled and then stored in the refrigerator overnight for a lovely dairy brunch entrée. 

This is the type of smoke salmon/lox that I use.  As it is off-cuts (not perfectly sliced lox) it is often available at a discount price and can be successfully frozen for later use.



Easy Metric to Imperial Kitchen guide  <-- this is a good link to use if you need to convert!  Enjoy.

Balsamic Vinaigrette - Easy, Delicious Salad Dressing

My dear sweet friend Elizabeth, from Nothing But An Apron On and her husband graced my Shabbat day table with a surprise visit.  I had prepared a salmon quiche and Elizabeth threw together a salad with the most amazing Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing that she had purchased from a roadside stand.  I could not get the taste of that salad, complete with an abundance of freshly picked multi-coloured cherry tomatoes, out of my mind.

I have come up with this dressing and it is as close as I can get to the taste.  When Elizabeth tries it out, any adjustments will be updated here.

Note:  Good quality Balsamic Vinegar is naturally sweet.  You should adjust the added brown sugar after tasting.  You may need less sugar so use half the suggested amount first, then add if you feel the dressing needs more.  I used "Balsamic Vinegar of Modena" as it is one of the few excellent quality Balsamic vinegars that are Kosher here in Australia.

Enjoy!


1/4 cup balsamic vinegar - use the best quality you can get
2 teaspoons dark brown sugar, optional*
1 tablespoon garlic, pressed or smashed up
salt
freshly cracked black pepper
3/4 cup good quality olive oil

Shake or whisk the above all together. Taste and adjust salt/pepper.

Prepare for a taste sensation!

This salad dressing will keep for days - remove it from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before using as the olive oil will slightly solidify.  I have successfully halved this recipe.