Smoked Salmon and Broccoli Quiche

Why To Love This Salmon and Broccoli Quiche

This smoked salmon and broccoli quiche is velvety smooth, full of big flavours, easy to make, and great for batch-cooking and making ahead.

You will enjoy it at brunch, lunch, or dinner. Baked as a mini version, it makes a perfect appetizer (mini quiche tart or tartlet) – so popular at parties and celebrations! See Top Tips section for instructions.

This quiche can be baked in a round or square pie (tart) baking tin –  either will work as long as it is at least 2.5- 3.5 cm deep (and accommodates the pastry and all of the fillings).

Looking for more brunch recipes? Try these triple chocolate pancakes, super easy pancakes with fruit or puff pastry tarts. If you are a fan of savoury pies and bakes, make sure to try this fish pie, baked tuna fish cakes, chicken and ham pie or family-style pork cottage pie.

Alternatively, this broccoli and pea soup will satisfy all who want something quick and healthy.

Key Ingredients

Here is a list of the main ingredients in this recipe (for both crust and the quiche), followed by suggestions on how to replace some of them.

Quiche Crust

A homemade wholemeal seeded pastry is always better than the one you can get in a grocery store – it contains less salt and sugar than the one from the shop.

This homemade poppy seed pie crust is simple, delicious, flaky and healthier than the traditional one made with just plain flour. To make it, you will need:

• Plain (all purpose) flour
• Wholemeal flour is great source of fibre. To keep the pastry flaky without being too dense, use the same or slightly smaller amount of wholemeal flour than the plain flour.
• Poppy seeds – are rich on nutrients, vitamins and minerals. They are a great source of protein, fibre, calcium, magnesium, zinc and iron. Poppy seeds can be eaten cooked (toasted or baked) or raw. You can toast them before adding to this recipe – this will intensify their flavour.
• Unsalted butter will help stick the dry ingredients together. Butter without added salt is preferred, as you will have more control over the amount of salt added - a pinch is more than enough in this case!
• Finish the pastry off by adding a free-range egg and a pinch of salt.

The Fillings

This quiche’s filling is velvety, smooth and juicy. Thanks to the smoked salmon and cheese, this quiche has a delicate creamy texture. The main stars of this dish are smoked salmon and broccoli.

• Smoked salmon – this delicacy known for its salty and smoky flavour takes this quiche to a whole new level. Use a ‘regular’ smoked salmon. Lemon-infused smoked salmon will work here too, adding citrusy notes to this cheesy tart. Smoked salmon is full of protein, vitamins and minerals, and is rich on omega-3 fatty acids, which benefit heart and brain health, amongst other health benefits. Due to its high sodium content, it is recommended to eat smoked salmon in moderation. I’m only using 1 small pack of it in the recipe - a little goes a long way here. PS, if you are interested in more salmon recipes, check out this creamy salmon and spinach pasta.
• Broccoli is a superfood packed with vitamins, minerals and other important nutrients. It is great for weight loss, has anti-cancerous properties, reduces inflammation, supports immune system. Sauté it gently on a pan before adding to the quiche to ensure it stays juicy and soft but not mushy. Use fresh broccoli if you can. Frozen broccoli can be used too, but it will get soft much faster – fry it just for 2-4 minutes.

Here is the rest of the ingredients for a creamy filling:

• Free-range eggs add a burst of colour to both the pastry and the filling, alongside a portion of vitamin D, B2, B6 and B12. Eggs contain high amounts of protein and good cholesterol, and help support mental health and healthy vision, amongst other positive effects to your body and mind.
• The combination of double cream and full-fat milk results in a deliciously soft custard texture which doesn’t dry out when cooking.
• Cheddar cheese – source of calcium and protein. Use mild or mature Cheddar for extra deep flavour.
• Dill pairs perfectly with the creamy texture to the quiche and the saltiness of the salmon. I used dried dill, as it was in my pantry, but you can use fresh one instead – the dish will be even more fragrant. Both dried and fresh dill work in this recipe.

Substitutions & Variations

Are you missing some of the ingredients in this recipe? Don’t panic – you always have options! Here is a list of what can be used alternatively:  

• Fresh or canned smoked trout, wild salmon or pink salmon – all of these fish will be a great swap for smoked salmon in this quiche recipe. Drain canned fish before adding.
• Use courgette or asparagus instead of broccoli – cut them into small dices and cook the same way as the broccoli.
• Replace onions with a leek – be careful not to burn down the leeks, as they tend to cook fast. Lower the heat as soon as you add leek to the pan and stir regularly.
• Cheddar cheese substitutes recommended for this quiche recipe are Edam, Emmental (Swiss Cheese), Gouda or Gruyere. They all have similar textures and are on the milder side of the palette. Look for aged (mature) varieties to match the taste of mature cheddar better.

Method

This delicious homemade quiche is ready in 4 easy steps. Don’t be put off by the pastry making – it’s fun and tastes so delightful, it’s absolutely worth the effort!

1. Prepare, chill, and blind bake the pastry.
2. Make the fillings.
3. Fill the quiche and bake again.
4. Serve with a side salad, soup or roasted vegetables.

Detailed instructions and quantities are in the recipe card.

Top Tips

• Make ahead – prepare the pastry or the whole quiche in advance. You can pre-bake the pastry and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days. Or store it unbaked in the freezer and defrost fully before blind baking.
• Pan-fry (toast) poppy seeds before adding them to this recipe to intensify their flavour.
• Balance the saltiness – the fillings such as smoked salmon and Cheddar cheese are salty enough, therefore there is no need to add salt to the fillings of the quiche.
• Prevent pastry from going soggy – leave the blind-baked pastry to cool down and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour before adding toppings and fillings.
• Cover the quiche with kitchen (aluminium) foil if it is getting too dark, especially around the crust’s edges.
• Adjust cooking times according to the size of your pie dish – if you are making one big quiche in a large baking tray, and the layer of the filling is thinner than 3cm, the creamy cheese tart will need less cooking time in the oven. Place in the middle of the oven for best results.
• Create a mini version of this recipe – mini quiches are popular party food and appetizer. You can easily apply this recipe to make them – just divide the pastry into smaller parcels that will fit your baking tin (one for muffins or tartlets will be perfect for this; you may need to bake it in two batches), and chop all vegetables finely. Remember to adjust cooking times; mini quiches (mini cheese tarts) will cook much faster than the regular-sized quiche. OR, simply cut the whole baked quiche into smaller bites (canape size).
• Save time with store-bought shortcrust pastry instead of making your own. This is great when you’re short on time, although the shop bought pastry will contain more salt and sugar, which may result in a sweeter-tasting meal.

Storage & How To Reheat

This smoked salmon and broccoli quiche taste the best straight from the oven when it’s warm. Warning: It smells so divine; you won’t want to delay eating it!

You can keep this quiche in an airtight food container in the fridge and consume it within 3 days.

This quiche can also be stored frozen – freeze it as soon as possible after it has cooled down. It will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer.

Reheating

This quiche can be eaten hot or cold. You can reheat it in the microwave, however, chances are the quiche will release a lot of moisture which will make the pastry go very soggy.

For best results, reheat it in an oven-proof dish for 20-30 minutes in a preheated oven (180C/355F).

FAQs

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