Fennel Mushroom Onion Quiche with Nut Crust

Serves 6-8

Recipe adapted from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Even though this recipe calls for homemade crust and sautéing vegetables, the prep took less than half an hour. Baking took only 40 minutes. This was a big hit with my husband.  I was able to use onions, fennel and mushrooms I already in my fridge.  The filling vegetables can certainly be substituted with whatever you have in yours.  (Broccoli, spinach, kale, asparagus would work) You could even use cheddar cheese if that’s what you have handy. 

Try this recipe for your next Meatless Monday dinner.  Get your ingredients from our community-owned grocery store, Lost River Market & Deli.

Nut Crust

½ cup finely minced pecans (If doing this in a food processor, be careful not to over process the nuts or you’ll get nut butter instead of minced nuts.)

Pinch of Kosher salt

1 cup unbleached white flour

¼ cup whole wheat flour

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

3 to 5 Tablespoons cold water (I used 5 Tablespoons)

Place the pecans, salt, and flours in the food processor.  Pulse a couple of times to mix.  Add the butter and process until the mixture becomes coarse, like cornmeal.  With the processor running, add in the water one Tablespoon at a time.  When the dough comes together, dump the contents out onto a floured board.  Form into a ball.  Roll out and place into a 9 inch pie plate.  Chill while making the filling.

Quiche Filling

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 cup or so of thinly sliced onions

2 cups or so of thinly sliced fennel

1-2 cups thinly sliced mushrooms

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

¼ pound gruyere cheese, grated

3 large eggs

1 cup milk (I used skim because that’s what we always have in the fridge.)

Pinch of paprika (optional)

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Heat olive oil in a skillet.  Sauté the onions, fennel and mushrooms until tender.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste.  Set aside.  Place the cheese evenly in the chilled nut crust dough.  Top evenly with the vegetable mixture. Whisk the eggs, milk and paprika (if using) together and then pour over the cheese and vegetables.

Place the quiche into the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. (It took the entire 40 minutes in my oven.)

Allow to cool to room temperature before serving.

Here's this quiche made with broccoli in place of the fennel.