Over the Top Mushroom Quiche — Credit:
Food & Wine / Photo by Greg Dupree / Prop Styling by Christina Daley / Food Styling Julian Hensarling

Active Time:

1 hr 30 mins

Total Time:

5 hrs 30 mins

Servings:

Yield:

1 (9-inch) quiche

This high-rising, mushroom-packed quiche is anything but ordinary. And that’s exactly the way chef Thomas Keller intended it. “I love quiche, but it has to be several inches high and made right,” he says. Keller’s over-the-top deep-dish version, which is adapted from a recipe in his Bouchon cookbook, just might be the perfect example, and is well worth the time it takes to prepare. The dish can also be made ahead of time for a special brunch or other occasion, then warmed up before serving.

Start by following the recipe for Keller’s favorite buttery, flaky pastry shell, which is made in a stand mixer and can be kept in the freezer for up to a month. The umami-rich filling features oyster and white mushrooms that are sautéed until tender in butter, thyme, and shallots. For this recipe, Keller likes to use Comté or Emmental cheese, which lends a buttery, nutty flavor and slightly sharp bite to the egg filling. Adding freshly grated nutmeg to the custard brings a lovely warm flavor to the dish, while layering the sautéed mushrooms and shredded cheese ensures that they're nicely distributed throughout the silky egg custard.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should you sauté vegetables before adding them to a quiche?

It’s always a good idea to cook vegetables and meat before adding them to the egg custard in a quiche. Doing so will bring out their flavor and reduce their moisture content, yielding a less watery quiche.

Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen

To make clean, even slices of quiche, use a very sharp chef’s knife and run it under hot water in between each slice to prevent sticking.

Make ahead

The uncooked pastry for the shell can be frozen for up to one month. The baked pastry shell can be wrapped in plastic and kept at room temperature overnight.

The unmolded quiche can be cooled completely, then refrigerated overnight. To serve, carefully cut the quiche into wedges, arrange on a baking sheet, and bake in a 350℉ oven until warm, about 10 minutes.

Suggested pairing

With their bright dried fruit and relative lack of tannins and oak, Provençal rosés make a great complement to quiche.

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Ingredients

1/2x

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Original recipe (1X) yields 12 servings

Buttery Pastry Shell

2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted, plus more for dusting
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 sticks chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/4 cup ice water
Canola oil, for brushing

Over-the-Top Mushroom Quiche

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound oyster mushrooms, stems trimmed and large caps halved or quartered
1 pound white mushrooms, thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 small shallots, minced
1 tablespoon thyme, chopped
3/4 cup shredded Comté or Emmental cheese (2 1/2 ounces)
2 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
Freshly grated nutmeg

Directions

Make the pastry shell

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, mix 1 cup of the flour with the salt. At low speed, add the butter pieces, a handful at a time. When all of the butter has been added, increase the speed to medium and mix until the butter is completely incorporated. Reduce the speed to low and add the remaining 1 cup of flour just until blended. Mix in the water just until thoroughly incorporated. Flatten the pastry into an 8-inch disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour or overnight.
Set the ring of a 9-inch springform pan on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving the hinge open. Brush the inside of the ring with oil.
Dust the pastry on both sides with flour. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pastry to a 16-inch round, about 3/16 inch thick. Carefully roll the pastry around the rolling pin and transfer to the prepared ring, pressing it into the corners. Trim the overhanging pastry to 1 inch and press it firmly against the outside of the ring. Use the trimmings to fill any cracks. Refrigerate the shell for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line the pastry shell with a 14-inch round of parchment paper; fill the shell with dried beans or rice. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the edge of the dough is lightly browned. Remove the parchment and beans and continue baking the pastry shell for about 15 minutes longer, or until richly browned on the bottom. Transfer the baking sheet to a rack and let the pastry cool. Fill any cracks with the reserved pastry dough.

Make the quiche

Preheat the oven to 325°F. In a large skillet, heat the oil. Add the oyster and white mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the butter, shallots, and thyme and cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms are tender, about 12 minutes longer. Let cool.
Scatter 1/4 cup of the cheese and half of the mushrooms evenly over the bottom of the pastry shell. In a blender, mix half each of the milk, cream, and eggs and season with 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, 1/8 teaspoon of pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg at high speed until frothy, about 1 minute. Pour the custard into the pastry shell. Top with another 1/4 cup of cheese and the remaining mushrooms. Make a second batch of custard with the remaining milk, cream, and eggs, plus the same amount of salt, pepper, and nutmeg as before, and pour into the shell. Scatter the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese on top.
Bake the quiche for about 1 1/2 hours, or until richly browned on top and the custard is barely set in the center. Let cool in the pan until very warm.
Using a serrated knife, cut the pastry shell flush with the top of the pan. Carefully lift the springform pan ring off the quiche. Cut the mushroom quiche into wedges, transfer to plates, and serve warm.

Originally appeared: July 2007