Monday, July 24, 2006

Inspired by Paris: smoked salmon and spinach quiche

On our first morning in Paris back in May, K. and I stopped for breakfast at Bread & Roses near Jardin du Luxembourg. It is a boulangerie-cum-café, selling a wide range of fresh bread & pastries as well as having couple of tables in its front section for a more leisurely break. It was quite busy with French-speaking locals, which was an encouraging sign. As it was almost noon by that time, I needed something much more substantial than just a coffee and a croissant to wake me up, so I opted for a smoked salmon and spinach quiche instead. It was a wise choice - the quiche was tasty and filling, and carried me through until our late night 'hotel picnic' of various goodies from La Grande Epicerie de Paris later that night.

I recreated a similar quiche a few weeks later in Edinburgh, to take along for an impromtu office lunch with some colleagues in Stirling (alongside Clotilde's chocolate & ginger tartlets; both went down well). I was very pleased with the result, so I'm sharing the recipe with you here.

On my next trip to Paris (soon, I hope:), I'll make sure to try Bread & Roses' fresh raspberry & basil macaroons, as so kindly recommended by Philippe Tailleur, owner of the boulangerie, in his comment left on my blog.

Smoked salmon and spinach quiche
(Spinati-suitsulõhepirukas)
Serves 6



Pastry:
3oo ml plain flour, sifted
100 grams butter
a pinch of salt
2-3 Tbsp cold water

Filling:
150 grams sliced smoked salmon
300 grams fresh spinach, washed & drained
3 large eggs
300 ml sour cream or creme fraiche
0.5 tsp ground white pepper
0.5 tsp salt
100 grams grated cheese (Cheddar, Gruyere, ...)

For the pastry, mix flour and salt in the bowl, add cold cubed butter and mix with a knife until you have fine crumbs. Add cold water, little by little (you may not need it all) and bring the pastry quickly together with your hands. Roll on a slightly floured worktop and line a 20-23 cm tin with the pastry. Put into the freezer for about 15 minutes (this reduces the shrinkage while baking).
Pierce the pastry with a fork at some places, and bake at 200C for 15-20 minutes, until the pastry is golden.

Meanwhile, rinse the spinach carefully, drain just lightly and put into a large pre-heated saucepan for a few minutes. Heat, until the spinach wilts, then quickly refresh under cold water and drain very thoroughly. Chop finely.
Mix chopped spinach with chopped salmon, grated cheese, eggs, sour cream and season with salt and pepper. Pour into the pre-baked pastry case and continue baking for 30-40 minutes, until the filling is set and the quiche is nicely golden brown on top.

Serve hot with a green salad, or take along to a picnic when cool.

Bread & Roses
7, rue de Fleurus
Paris (6ème)
Tél: 01 42 22 06 06
Website

11 comments:

K and S said...

this looks really good!

Anonymous said...

It looks lovely, Pille. When we were in Paris 2 years ago, or maybe even 3, we bought mini quiches and then had a lovely picnic in Bois de Boulogne. My quiche was actually with spinach and smoked salmon, yummy!

Jeanne said...

This looks outstanding!! I must try it... When I was in Paris a couple of weeks ago I had a carrot and feta quiche from the Marche Biolgogique Raspail - also worth trying to recreate at home - sitting on the banks of the Seine near Notre Dame. Heaven.

Papilles et Pupilles said...

wonderful ! I love smoked salmon

Anonymous said...

Yum! That looks so yummy! I like all kinds of savory tarts, pies, and quiches...and spinach and salmon are both winners in my book :) Sounds like a wonderful time in Paris!

Anonymous said...

Two of my favorite ingredients -- salmon and spinach! You quiche looks delicious.

Paz

Joycelyn said...

hi pille, what a winner! a true classic...that picture looks unspeakably delicious...

Pille said...

K&S - thanks! I think I'll make another one this weekend already..

Dagmar - I like mini quiches (Chubby Hubby had a great mini quiche post last year), but sadly I haven't got mini quiche pans. When I'll buy some, I'll make mini salmon & spinach tarts and think of you;)

Jeanne - a carrot and feta quiche sounds delicious! I might revisit my Moroccan carrot & feta salad and gingered carrot & feta salad recipes and see if I can turn these into quiches. Thanks for the inspiration!

papilles et pupilles - to be honest, I wasn't such a great fan of cold smoked salmon until few months ago, but now buy it quite regularly. My tastebuds are certainly developing the more I blog:)

Joey - I had lovely time in Paris, and looks like I will be able able to return there over and over again in the same charming company;)

Paz - well, if you like spinach & salmon, you should give this recipe a go then!

Fancy Free- welcome to my blog, and I'm glad you enjoy reading it. Nami-Nami is like Yummy-Yummy. My ex-bf came up with the name for our joint Estonian recipe site in 2002 or so. I hated the name in the beginning - I thought it was too immature, but it grew on me. I started blogging last June, just a month after his untimely death, so it seemed appropriate to use the same name for my blog, too, as a small tribute to him.
Re: Scotland - hope you will be able to visit the place one day. I, on the other hand, will be returning home to Estonia in October, after 7 wonderful years here in Edinburgh. Time to move on (back?)

J - you are way too sweet! The picture was taken quickly on my office desk, and I didn't have a chance to use any props sadly.. One day I will be taking pictures like yours:)

Tony le frenchy said...

hey!!
I have read all the comments, you guys seem to love French food. Me too! I am from Paris, I live in L.A and Paris missed me a lot. If you have any question, feel free to ask me and visit straightfromfrance.com, it's a lovely shop on-line with French products, obviously straight from France.It's cheap, there are a lot of gourmet food and deliver right to your door!!
Amazing, isn't it?

Princess said...

Can you convert this recipe to ounces for us Americans? A friend of mine had made it and it was EXCELLENT!

Unknown said...

what a food! truly heaven.That picture looks so delicious.Salmon is my favourite.I already started craving for it now.I visited one of the local cafe which is paris origin,but sad no such item in their Menu. Someday i will surely have it


Eating cheap in paris