Hermine Dossou’s spinach and mushroom quiche

“It’s often said that quiche is old-fashioned, but there is nothing old-fashioned about this one,” says former Great British Bake Off contestant Hermine Dossou.

“It’s a crumbly, super-short, melt-in-your-mouth pastry filled with buttery spinach and creamy custard.

“Gruyère is the perfect cheese for quiche and a little goes a long way, but if it’s not available, you can substitute with Emmental, Comté, Jarlsberg or Beaufort.”

Spinach and mushroom quiche

Ingredients:
(Serves 8)

For the shortcrust pastry:
210g plain flour (gf plus 1tsp xanthan gum), plus extra for dusting
130g cold butter
1 large egg (55g)
1tbsp cold water
¼tsp salt

For the custard:
15g butter
Leaves from 3 thyme sprigs
1 small yellow onion (about 50g), finely chopped
2 eggs
120g double cream
1 chicken or vegetable stock cube, crumbled
1tsp Dijon mustard
¼tsp salt
Pinch of black pepper

For the filling:
30g butter
250g mushrooms, sliced
½tsp garlic powder
A pinch of salt
250g baby spinach leaves
80g grated Gruyére cheese

Method:

1. To make the shortcrust pastry, in a large bowl rub the flour and butter together with your fingertips until sandy in texture. (You can use a food processor to speed up this process.) Add the egg, water and salt and bring together into a dough without overworking it. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge – you always want to work with cold pastry as it’s much easier to handle.

2. When ready, lightly flour a work surface and roll out the dough to a circle about 30cm in diameter and 3mm thick. Use your rolling pin to lift it up and lay it over a 23cm tart tin, so there is an overhang of pastry at the top. Using a straight-sided glass, ease the pastry into the corners of the tin by rolling the glass around the edge in circular motion. Chill for 20 minutes.

3. Preheat your oven at 200C/180C fan/400F/Gas 6. Line your chilled pastry case with parchment paper, fill it with baking beans or cheap pulses, and blind bake for 15 minutes. Lift out the baking beans and parchment paper and continue baking for a further 10 minutes to dry out the base.

4. Meanwhile, make the custard. Put the butter, thyme and onion in a small frying pan over medium heat and cook until the onion is soft and transparent. Set aside to cool slightly. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, stock cube, mustard, salt and pepper, adding the cooked onions. Set aside.

5. Prepare the filling using the same pan you used to cook the onions. Heat the butter, add the mushrooms, garlic and salt, and cook over a high heat until the mushrooms are soft and most of the water has evaporated. Add the spinach and cook until it has wilted and the mixture is thick.

6. Tip the spinach mixture into the pre-baked tart case and spread it around evenly. Sprinkle over the grated cheese, then pour in the custard, making sure it’s distributed evenly. Bake at 200C/180C fan/400F/Gas 6 for 20–25 minutes, or until the middle of the quiche looks set and the top is slightly golden. Enjoy warm.

The Thrifty Baker by Hermine Dossou is published by White Lion, priced £18.99. Photography by Patricia Niven. Available now.