Sunday Brunch: Salmon Quiche

I really enjoy cooking for my friends and family, but with work and life in general, I haven't had very much time to do anything remotely fun in the kitchen. So, I was very happy to make a simple brunch for Jen recently. Inspired by a recent post on Tartlette blog, I decided to make salmon quiche, with a few modifications.

Rainbow swiss chard is so pretty, right? I love the color that it adds to any dish, but more importantly, I like that it packs a lot of nutrients. In fact, it is second (only to spinach) in the running for healthiest vegetable. Up until this adventure, I hadn't ever cooked it, but after a little bit of testing, I now know that it is a bitter, bitter plant that tastes strongly of chlorophyll. And even though I am a lover of all things fatty, I have to admit, swiss chard is rather delicious!

This quiche is so simple! The hint of dijon in the crust combined with the simple filling of onion, swiss chard and salmon was irresistible.

Quiche Crust:

• 4 Tablespoons butter (room temp)
• 1.5 Teaspoons Dijon
• 1 egg yolk
• 1.5 cups loosely packed flour
• 1/4 cup of milk or water

Mix butter and dijon in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add in egg yolk and mix until combined. Once combined, add flour to mixture. Since the dough is rather dry, add water or milk in a slow, slow stream until the dough starts to better clump together. (You may not need the entire 1/4 cup.)

Plop dough onto a lightly floured area and roll into a ball. Wrap ball in plastic and refrigerate for an hour or until cold.

Remove dough from fridge and roll out dough until it is about 1/4 to 1/8 of an inch thick. Press rolled out dough into desired tart or pie pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until bottom of the dough is golden brown and cooked through.

Quiche Filling:

• 4-5 leaves swiss chard, chopped
• 1/2 medium sized onion
• 1/2 lb. salmon, cut into small squares or pieces
• 3 eggs
• Salt and Pepper
• 1/2 lemon

Preheat oven to 375 Fahrenheit.

Saute onions until translucent and then add in the swiss chard. Continue to saute until wilted. Once everything is cooked down, take it out of the pan and place into the base of the quiche crust. Layer the salmon on top of the swiss chard and onions.

Whip your three eggs until fluffy, then season your eggs with salt and pepper. Carefully pour (seriously, really carefully - my eggs overflowed onto my clean kitchen counter, sadness) over your quiche filling. Squeeze lemon over the quiche.

Put your quiche into the oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until the center is cooked through.