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