Celebrate this upcoming Mother’s Day with your loved ones and some delicious food. This quiche can be made ahead of time so the special day can be work-free!

Mother’s Day is approaching fast and I wanted to have something special on my blog. I was going back and forth between the classics like pancakes or waffles made with some twist or something less traditional. I decided to go with this quiche because it a) is scrumptious, b) can be made in advance, c) travels well and d) can be served at room temperature, so it’s perfect for a picnic. I could also add that it looks quite nice and mom will be impressed. This quiche can be done the day before and reheated just before serving or the crust can be baked ahead of time and the quiche can be assembled and baked when needed.

For last year’s Mother’s Day blog posts I prepared crepes, eggs Benedict and broiled grapefruit. Stay tuned for another recipe to be posted tomorrow as a part of this menu.

To make this quiche, start by preparing the dough. It can be made well in advance as it can be stored in a freezer for few months. So maybe you actually have some dough left in there from, umm I don’t know, Christmas baking? Go check 🙂

To make the crust, combine flour, salt, sugar and cubed very cold butter in a food processor. Process briefly until pea-sized pieces are forming. Pause and add few tablespoons of ice water then process some more. Transfer the dough onto a large piece of plastic, flatten into a disk, wrap it and place in a fridge for minimum of 30 minutes. Check out this recipe for more detailed instructions and pictures.

We won’t be using a tart baking pan here but a 9-inch springform pan instead. Lightly grease it with some butter and set aside. Remove the dough from the fridge and give it a few minutes to warm up a bit. Sprinkle some flour on the rolling surface and roll the dough out to about a 15-inch circle. Transfer it carefully into the baking pan and press gently onto the bottom and sides.

To give it a slightly rustic look, using a sharp knife cut the dough irregularly (like shown above). Prick with a fork and place in a freezer for 15-20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cover the dough with parchment paper and add baking weights (dried beans, rice). I keep my baking weights and cut parchment paper in a labeled Ziploc bag since they can be reused.

Bake the crust for 25 minutes, then remove the weights and paper and continue baking another 8-10 minutes or until slightly golden. Remove from the oven and let it cool. You can stop at this point if you are going to assemble and bake the quiche the next day.

Turn the oven up to 400°F. To prepare the filling, thinly slice red onion and drain the artichoke heart quarters. If using frozen, thaw them first. On a skillet, melt the butter and cook the onions until they appear translucent, about 4 minutes. Add artichoke hearts and saute for another 5-7 minutes, until they are soft. Set aside.

In a stand mixer, beat together eggs, cream, milk, chopped dill and spices. Pour half of the mixture onto the baked crust and bake for about 18-20 minutes, until the eggs are mostly set (some jiggle in the middle is ok).

Remove the quiche from the oven and place it on a rimmed cookie sheet. Some of the remaining egg mixture might leak through. If it does, wipe the excess off before placing back into the oven. Add 1/2 of the artichoke mixture, smoked salmon and goat cheese on top of the quiche, then pour in the remaining egg mixture. Scatter the rest of artichokes and onion, salmon and goat cheese all over. Sprinkle chopped dill generously.

Bake another 40-45 minutes, until the center begins to set. Watch the edges of crust while baking and cover them with aluminum foil strips if they start getting too brown. I didn’t have to do that but every oven is a bit different.

Cool the quiche a bit before serving. To remove from the pan, run a knife around the sides and then release from the ring.

Serves: 8       Prep time: 1 hr    Ready in: 3.5 hrs

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup, 8 oz) unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
• 4-5 tablespoons ice water

Filling:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 (13.75 oz) can of artichoke heart quarters, drained or 20 frozen quarters, thawed
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup milk (2%)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 teaspoons fresh dill, chopped plus more for sprinkling on top
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 cup smoked salmon, broken into pieces
• 4 oz goat cheese, crumbled or cut into chunks

Directions:

1. Crust: using a food processor, combine flour, salt, sugar and butter. Process until small pieces of butter are visible, about 40 seconds. Add 3 tablespoons of water and process 5-10 seconds. Add more water only if the dough seems too dry. Place a large piece of plastic on the work surface and transfer the dough. Bring it all together, then shape into a disk and flatten. Wrap in a plastic and refrigerate from 30 minutes up to 2 days or freeze.
2. Flour the work surface and take the dough out (if frozen warm it up for 15 minutes). Roll it out to 15-inch circle and transfer into greased 9-inch springform pan. Push the dough gently down and to the sides. Using a sharp knife cut the edges of the dough in irregular pattern. Prick the bottom with a fork. Place the pan into the freezer for 15-20 minutes.
3. Place an oven rack in the middle and heat the oven up to 350°F. Cover the dough with large piece of parchment paper and add baking weights. Bake for 25 minutes, then remove the weights and paper and bake additional 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and turn the temperature up to 400°F.
4. Filling: melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet and add sliced red onion. Cook until translucent, then add drained, quartered artichoke hearts. Cook until soft, about 7 more minutes. Set aside.
5. Using a mixer, beat together eggs, milk, cream, spices and dill. Pour half of it onto the baked crust. Bake for 18-20 minutes until the eggs are mostly set.
6. Remove from the oven and place the baking pan onto a rimmed cookie sheet. Add half of the artichoke mixture as well as smoked salmon and goat cheese. Pour the remaining egg mixture into the pan and add the rest of the ingredients. Sprinkle chopped dill on top.
7. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Cool it down then run a sharp knife around the quiche to remove the ring.
8. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Recipe comes from Fine Cooking “Breakfast” edition, 2011.