Salmon and Spinach Quiche is a light, creamy and indulgent treat that is perfect for brunch, lunch, or a light dinner. This flavorsome quiche features a buttery homemade pastry crust, and a creamy egg base scattered with fresh spinach and salmon filling. It is very straightforward to make at home, and impressive enough to wow your guests!
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This savory and flavorsome salmon quiche is perfect for entertaining. You can make it ahead and reheat it just before the service. Also, it is great for lunch boxes or picnics, it still tastes great when eaten cold or at room temperature!
Difference Between Quiche and Frittata
Quiche is a French tart made with pastry crust filled with savoury egg custard and pieces of cheese, meat, seafood or vegetables. You can use store-bought crust or you can make your own. It can be served hot, warm or cold.
A frittata is like a crustless quiche or an unfolded omelet enriched with additional ingredients such as meats, cheeses, or/and vegetables. It is much quicker than making a quiche as it doesn't require any time for making a crust.
Why This Recipe Works?
- Same as my Salmon & Spinach Pasta, it is made with healthy fresh salmon and superfood spinach.
- The leftovers would keep refrigerated for up to three days in an airtight container. They are great for lunch boxes or picnics.
- You can prepare this scrumptious quiche a few days ahead and reheat it when you are ready to serve.
- It is a perfect dish to serve for lunch, supper, picnics, or gatherings.
- Salmon has a relatively high-fat content so you don’t need to worry about overcooking it.
- If you are short on time, you can use a store-bought crust. Just make sure to buy a deep-dish crust as a regular pie shell is not deep enough to hold all the fillings.
Ingredients and Substitutes
- Salmon - I prefer using fresh salmon but you can use frozen if that's what you have. If using frozen salmon, make sure to thaw it before adding it to the sauce. Also, don't freeze the leftovers if using frozen salmon, and consume the leftovers in 24 hours.
- Spinach - I use fresh baby spinach leaves as they are sweeter in taste. You can also use chopped spinach leaves instead. Wash the spinach leaves thoroughly and dry them before cooking.
- Double cream - It is very similar to heavy cream. You can substitute it with the same amount of full-fat milk and add an extra egg to the mixture.
- Egg - Use a large free-range egg. If using milk instead of cream, add an extra egg to the mixture.
- Cheese - I use Gruyère or/and cheddar but you can use any of your favorite cheeses such as feta, Emmental, or Comte.
- Unsalted butter - Unsalted butter has a fresher, purer flavor and easier to control the amount of salt going into the pastry. Make sure the butter is very cold and cut into small cubes.
- All-purpose or plain flour - Plain flour has less protein which is perfect for making a shortcrust pastry that is crumbly.
- Water - The amount of water you need depends on the humidity of the room so add it carefully, just enough to get the right consistency. You might not need all the water given in the recipe.
- Spices - Nutmeg, paprika, and freshly ground pepper are all you need but you can add other spices you like using with fish, and also adjust the amount to your taste.
How to Make Salmon and Spinach Quiche?
It is easy and straightforward to make this flavorsome and healthy quiche. However, to achieve the best results, you need to follow a few simple steps:
Prepare The Shortcrust Pastry
Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the salt and diced butter.
Rub the butter in flour with your fingertips until the mixture is like fine breadcrumbs.
Add the water gradually just enough to make a firm dough. Knead the dough briefly on a floured surface and turn it into a ball. Wrap in a cling film and rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour before rolling it out.
Prepare The Filling
While the pastry is cooling down, start preparing your quiche filling. Cut the salmon fillet into chunky dice size of 3 cm (1") and set them aside.
Place a wok or a large pan on medium heat and add olive oil. When the pan is hot, add the onions and sauté for a few minutes, until soft and translucent.
Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds before adding the spinach leaves. Cook until the spinach has wilted and then transfer it into a sieve to get rid of excess liquid.
Set it aside and proceed to blind baking the pastry.
Bake The Crust
Take the pastry out of the fridge and leave it at room temperature for 10 minutes before rolling it out.
Whisk the egg and then add the cream (or milk), salt, pepper, nutmeg and the grated cheese. Mix well and keep it aside.
Preheat the oven to 180 °C (360 °F). On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry slightly larger than the pie dish, large enough to cover the bottom and sides of the tin.
Carefully place the dough into a 20 cm (8") fluted tart pan. Tuck it in with your fingers, making sure it is completely smooth. Prick the dough all over with a fork, cover and place it in the freezer for at least 15 minutes (or fridge for 30 minutes). This helps to reduce pastry shrinkage when cooking.
Line the tart tin with parchment paper or tin foil, covering the edges to avoid them from burning. Fill with dried chickpeas or pie weights to prevent the dough from rising and bake for about 15 minutes.
Remove the chickpeas or pie weights and cook for another 8-10 minutes until golden brown.
Remove crust from the oven and let it cool down for 10 minutes before filling it up with spinach and salmon. You can do this stage up to 3 days ahead of time. Cover cooled crust tightly and refrigerate until ready to fill.
Build The Quiche and Bake
Reduce the oven temperature to 175 °C (350 °F). Spread the salmon pieces on the bottom of your pie crust and sprinkle on some seasoning. Add the cooked spinach and spread it evenly.
Pour in the egg mixture carefully over the top and place the quiche tin on a foil-lined baking sheet and transfer it to the oven.
Bake it for 30 minutes or until just set in the centre. The quiche will begin to puff up while cooking but it will slightly deflate once it is out of the oven.
Remove the quiche from the oven and let it cool down on a wire rack for 15 minutes before serving.
Top Tip From The Chef
You can customize this quiche with different fillings, whatever you have in the fridge. Why not try this quiche with some cooked/leftover chicken pieces and sautéed mushrooms or asparagus and smoked salmon?
Recipe FAQs
Yes, I strongly advise blind baking the crust. This step makes sure that you get a crisp pastry base instead of a "soggy bottom".
I usually serve this delicious quiche with a bowl of leafy salad such as Rocket Salad With Parmesan, Lebanese Fattoush Salad, or Greek Cucumber Salad. Soup also is a great accompaniment to quiche. Try it with a bowl of Wild Garlic Soup, Red Pepper and Tomato Soup, or Thermomix Pumpkin Soup.
The leftovers would keep for up to three days when refrigerated in an airtight container. You can also freeze the leftovers for up to three months if you used fresh salmon for the filling. Don't freeze the leftover salmon quiche if you used frozen salmon!
Related Recipes
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Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.
I hope you enjoy the process of making this colorful and creamy Russian Potato Salad as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂
Bon appétit! / Afiyet olsun!
Salmon and Spinach Quiche
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Shortcrust Pastry
- 200 g plain white flour / all-purpose flour
- 5 g salt
- 100 g unsalted butter (very cold, cut in small cubes)
- 60 ml cold water
For the Egg Filling
- 1 large egg
- 230 ml double cream or heavy cream
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 50 g Gruyère or cheddar cheese (grated)
For the Salmon and Spinach Filing
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion (finely chopped)
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 400 g baby spinach (washed and dried)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- 300 g salmon fillet (cut in 3 cm / 1" cubes)
- 2 tablespoon fresh dill (chopped)
Instructions
Prepare the Shortcrust Pastry
- Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the salt and diced butter.
- Rub the butter in flour with your fingertips until the mixture is like fine breadcrumbs.
- Add the water gradually just enough to make a firm dough. Knead the dough briefly on a floured surface and turn it into a ball.
- Wrap in a cling film and rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour before rolling it out.
Prepare the Filling
- While the pastry is cooling down, start preparing your quiche filling.
- Cut the salmon fillet into chunky dice size of 3 cm (1") and set them aside.
- Place a wok or a large pan on medium heat and add olive oil.
- When the pan is hot, add the onions and sauté for a few minutes, until soft and translucent.
- Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds before adding the spinach leaves.
- Cook until the spinach has wilted and then transfer it into a sieve to get rid of excess liquid. Set it aside and proceed to blind baking the pastry.
Bake the Crust
- Take the pastry out of the fridge and leave it at room temperature for 10 minutes before rolling it out.
- Whisk the egg and then add the cream (or milk), salt, pepper, nutmeg and the grated cheese. Mix well and keep it aside.
- Preheat the oven to 180 °C (360 °F).
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry slightly larger than the pie dish, large enough to cover the bottom and sides of the tin.
- Carefully place the dough into a 20 cm (8") fluted tart pan. Tuck it in with your fingers, making sure it is completely smooth.
- Prick the dough all over with a fork, cover and place it in the freezer for at least 15 minutes (or fridge for 30 minutes). This helps to reduce pastry shrinkage when cooking.
- Line the tart tin with parchment paper or tin foil, covering the edges to avoid them from burning.
- Fill with dried chickpeas or pie weights to prevent the dough from rising and bake for about 15 minutes. Remove the chickpeas or pie weights and cook for another 8-10 minutes until golden brown.pie weightspie weights
- Remove crust from the oven and let it cool down for 10 minutes before filling it up with spinach and salmon. You can do this stage up to 3 days ahead of time. Cover cooled crust tightly and refrigerate until ready to fill.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 175 °C (350 °F).
Build The Quiche and Bake
- Spread the salmon pieces on the bottom of your pie crust and sprinkle on some seasoning.
- Add the cooked spinach and pour in the egg mixture carefully over the top.
- Place the quiche tin on a foil-lined baking sheet and transfer it to the oven. Bake it for 30 minutes or until just set in the centre. The quiche will begin to puff up while cooking but it will slightly deflate once it is out of the oven.
- Remove the quiche from the oven and let it cool down on a wire rack for 15 minutes before serving.
Notes
- The leftovers would keep refrigerated for up to three days in an airtight container. They are great for lunch boxes or picnics.
- You can bake the crust up to 3 days ahead of time. Cover cooled crust tightly and refrigerate until ready to fill.
- You can customize this quiche with different fillings, whatever you have in the fridge. Why not try this quiche with some cooked/leftover chicken pieces and sautéed mushrooms.
- Salmon has a relatively high-fat content so you don’t need to worry about overcooking it.
- If you are short on time, you can use a store-bought crust. Just make sure to buy a deep-dish crust as a regular pie shell is not deep enough to hold all the fillings.
Nutrition
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Rona
Such a great, simple and tasty recipe, and quick to make. Will definitely be making in the future.