Mushroom quiche with arugula salad

I was baking Friday for the Farmers Market and I was getting hungry.  And with it being Lent, I had to whip up something "senza" meat. (without)  Being a baker and working at the Farmers market I always have the ingredients to whip up a great treat. 

This is a wonderful little quiche.  The custard is extremely light and paired with the earthy mushrooms and buttery crust is a combo made in heaven.  Lucy, one of our great market vendors, has beautiful arugula and I try to buy some every week to insure I always have some handy.

You can make this in any small tart pans you have. You can also make it in a large tart pan.

Ingredients:

(Herb pie crust)

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon thyme

8 oz cold butter

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1 inch pieces

Method:

Place the flour, salt, and thyme in a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add the the butter and pulse until pea sized balls are formed. Add the water and pulse again until the mixture starts to come together.  Shape into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Oil 8 mini spring form pans. After refrigerating, cut the dough into 8 equal pieces and roll each into a circle and line each pan with the dough. All the way up to the top. Refrigerate until ready to use.

(Mushrooms)

2 pints baby portabella mushrooms, sliced

1/4 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper, a good pinch of each

In a large non-stick skillet, heat the olive oil and add the mushrooms, salt and pepper. Saute the mushroom over medium heat until  caramelized. I like a little crispness in the mushrooms.  Set aside to cool.

Custard filling

6 eggs

1 cup heavy cream

2 cups milk

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

In a medium bowl, whisk all the ingredient together until smooth.

Assembly:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Divide the mushroom between all the tart shell. Fill each shell to 3/4 full.

Bake tarts for 40 to 50 min. The filling will  form a dome, which will deflate when cooled. When the tart is domed and the crust is golden, remove from oven to cool.

The quiche  can be eaten as is or with a salad. I like to top them with a simple arugula salad tossed in a basic vinaigrette. 1 part vinaigrette, 3 parts olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.

 

Enjoy!