This smoked salmon and broccoli quiche is delicious, creamy and indulgent. This salmon and cheese French-style tart works well as a main course for dinner but also makes a great (packed) lunch. Alternatively, serve mini versions of this quiche as an appetizer – your guests will love it!
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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 or family-style pork cottage pie.
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!
- Prepare, chill, and blind bake the pastry.
- Make the fillings.
- Fill the quiche and bake again.
- 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
Quiche [keesh] is a tart made of shortcrust pastry filled with creamy custard, cheese, vegetables and meat. There are many variations of this classic French recipe, some are meat and crust-free.
This cheesy and smoky salmon quiche can be served with a side salad, cream of broccoli or tomato soup, oven-baked potato or sweet potato wedges, roasted vegetables, sauteed beans, mushrooms or asparagus, or with a slice of garlic bread.
Quiche is a French savoury meal made of eggs, cream and other fillings. It is creamy and soft in the middle and usually baked in a crusty pastry.
Fritatta is an Italian version of an omelette made without flipping it during the process. Fritatta doesn't have a crust, which makes it naturally low-carb.
📖 The Recipe
Creamy Smoked Salmon and Broccoli Quiche
Ingredients
Pie crust
- 100 g plain white flour
- 75 g wholewheat flour
- 15 g poppy seeds
- 80 g unsalted butter
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 free-range medium egg
The filling
- 100 g smoked salmon
- 3 tablespoon rapeseed oil
- 1 onion
- 260 g broccoli cut into small florets
- 4 large free-range eggs
- 300 ml double cream
- 150 ml whole milk
- 80 g Cheddar cheese
- 1 teaspoon dried dill or chives or handful fresh dill or chives
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Prepare the pastry
- Mix the flours, poppy seeds and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add cold butter cubes and rub until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add an egg and combine. The pastry should feel sticky, you can add more plain flour to reduce the stickiness, however, do not add too much.
- Pat into a ball, place it between two parchment (baking) papers, and roll until the pastry is only about 1 cm thick. Set on a plate and put in the fridge to chill for at least 30-60 minutes.
Prepare the filling
- Add rapeseed oil into a large frying pan and set on medium heat. Dice the broccoli and roughly chop the onion. When the oil is hot, add the vegetables. Bring the heat down and stir it every 2 minutes. Sauté until slightly brown and crispy (takes about 7-10 minutes).
- Break four eggs into a mixing bowl, add double (thick) cream, whole milk, grated Cheddar, dill and black pepper. Cut the smoked salmon into dices.
Blind-bake the pastry
- Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan/355 F.
- Take the pastry out of the fridge, leave to rest for 5 minutes, and roll until it is large enough to cover your pie dish (baking tin). Transfer the pastry to the pie baking tin, press the pastry to the bottom and the sides of the tin so that it touches the tin’s surface everywhere. Prick the bottom of the pastry sheet with a fork several times.
- Cover the pastry with a baking paper, and baking beans and bake for 20 minutes or until golden and crispy.
Add the fillings
- Take the baked pastry out of the oven, top with cooked broccoli and onions, add smoked salmon and pour over with the egg, cheese and cream mix. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until slightly golden on top. Serve hot or cold with a side salad or soup.
Notes
- Fresh or canned smoked trout, wild salmon or pink salmon.
- Use courgette or asparagus instead of broccoli.
- Replace onions with a leek.
- Cheddar cheese substitutes are Edam, Emmental (Swiss Cheese), Gouda or Gruyere.
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