Smoked Salmon Quiche

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups Flour
• 1 cup Butter
• 2 1/2 tbsp Butter
• up to 1/3 cup Water, chilled
• 1/2 cup Onion, finely chopped
• 14 ounces Smoked Salmon, chopped
• 2 tsp Fresh Chives, chopped
• 1 clove Garlic, chopped
• 2 tsp Fresh Basil, chopped
• 5 whole Eggs
• 1 cup Milk
• 1 cup Whipping Cream

Method

Make the pastry cold and keep it cold throughout. Pulse 200g plain flour with 100g cold butter cubed until breadcrumbs form — the butter parcels create steam pockets that separate the layers. Add 75-90ml chilled water a tablespoon at a time, pulsing between additions until the dough just holds together when squeezed. Gather into a disc, wrap, and chill for at least an hour. This rest allows the gluten to relax and the fat to firm up again, both essential for a flaky crust that won't shrink on you.

Blind bake the tart shell at 200°C for 15 minutes. Line the pastry with baking paper, fill with beans or rice, and bake until the sides are set but the base still pale — you're after structure without colour at this stage. Remove the weights and paper, then set aside. The pre-bake prevents a soggy bottom once the custard liquid hits it.

Sauté the finely chopped onion in 25g butter over medium heat until translucent and beginning to caramelise at the edges — about 5 minutes. The surface should turn from wet-looking to slightly glazed. Add the chopped smoked salmon, chives, garlic, and basil. Stir for one minute only — overcooking the salmon makes it tough and bitter. The residual heat is enough. Spread this mixture across the blind-baked shell.

Whisk 5 eggs with 240ml milk and 240ml whipping cream. The cream raises the custard's richness and helps it set to a creamy rather than rubbery texture — the fat in the cream interferes with egg protein bonding. Season with white pepper (black specks look wrong in pale custard, however minor). Pour into the shell until just below the rim.

Bake at 160°C for 30-35 minutes. The quiche is done when the surface is just set with a slight wobble at the very centre — no more than a quarter-inch diameter. Jiggling the tin should show the edge fully set but the middle showing a skin of firmness over liquid. It carries over cooking as it cools, so pull it out before it looks entirely firm or it'll be dry. Leave to rest 10 minutes before slicing. Serve warm or at room temperature.