SMOKED SALMON QUICHE

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My husband gave me a cookbook called "365 Main Courses - A Deliciously Different Dish For Every Day of the Year - by Jenny Fleetwood". Not that I intend to use it every day, though I would love to! The book is a beautiful collection of  scrumptious photos of deliciousness with step-by-step recipes.

My first experiment was Smoked Salmon Quiche that is made with Potato Pastry. I had never made pastry with potatoes before, but it sounded interesting. Believe me, it is a melt-in-your-mouth pastry, as the recipe promises. Perfect! I simply loved it. Absolutely worth a try.

I made individual quiches in ceramic dishes (12 cm diameter). The recipe yields 8 of these. Or, you can make a single large quiche that serves 6 to 8 people.

SMOKED SALMON QUICHE

(adapted from "365 Main Courses")

Potato Pastry

115g floury potatoes ( I used Russet )

225g all purpose flour, sifted

115g butter, cold, and diced

1/2 egg, beaten

Peel and dice the potato and steam it until tender. Mash it and set aside until cool. (I used 1 large potato, and weighted it after it was cooked and mashed).

Sift the flour into a large bowl, and rub in the butter until it gets crumbly. Set aside.

Beat one whole egg, and using a measuring cup, separate half of it (save the other half for the filling).

Add mashed potato and egg to flour/butter mixture and bring the mixture together with your fingers. If it is too dry to come together, add chilled water (one tsp at a time).

Roll  out the dough on a lightly floured surface and line a 9" (23cm) round quiche pan, or divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and roll out each one separately to line 8 individual mini quiche pans. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Filling

300g smoked salmon, chopped

5 eggs + 1/2 egg (left from the pastry)

150ml milk

300ml heavy cream

2 tsp dry dill (or 2-3 Tbsp fresh dill)

2 Tbsp capers, chopped

salt and ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Place a baking sheet in the oven to preheat it.

Beat the eggs, milk and cream together, stir in the dill and capers and season with pepper. Add salt if necessary.

Add salmon and stir to combine.

Remove pastry from the refrigerator and prick the base with a fork. Pour the filling mixture into it.

Bake on the preheated baking sheet for about 35 to 45 minutes, until filling is set and pastry is golden brown.

Serve warm with a side of salad.