This crowd-pleasing quiche starts with Anna Olson’s Classic Pie Dough recipe, which is partially blind-baked (the quiche filling will cook faster, so some pre-baking of the crust is necessary). “While a quiche is known as a savoury tart made up of an egg filling with added ingredients, this version is more like a lot of tasty fillings bound with a little egg,” writes Olson. “The bacon, mushrooms and cheese are bolstered by adding onions and carrots, and the wheat beer brings all the flavours together without being overly rich or heavy.” You should have enough of pie dough to use to make Olson’s Brown Butter Pecan Pie.

Make-ahead tip:

The quiche can be baked a day ahead and chilled, then rewarmed for 20 minutes in a 350°F (180°C) oven.

A quiche on a wooden tray with a slice on a white plate next to it

Quiche With Mushrooms and Bacon

Anna Olson's recipe for a crowd-pleasing quiche made with thick-cut bacon, cremini mushrooms and wheat beer.

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Course lunch, Main Course

Cuisine Canadian, French

Servings 8

Ingredients

3 strips thick-cut bacon about 4 oz
1 cup finely diced onions about 1 medium onion
1 cup coarsely grated carrots about 1 medium carrot
4 oz (125 g) sliced cremini or button mushrooms
¾ cup wheat beer
½ tsp fine salt
¼ tsp finely ground black pepper
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
2 large eggs
½ cup whipping cream
⅓ cup half-&-half cream
½ batch Classic Pie Dough rolled to 9 inches (23 cm)
1 cup grated Emmenthal or Gruyère cheese

Instructions

Roll out the pie dough on a lightly floured surface into a circle just under ¼ inch (6 mm) thick. Trim away any large pieces of dough from the edge and tuck and pinch the edges in a pattern. Alternatively, trim the pastry to the outside edge of the pie plate and press in place. Cut out shapes from the excess pastry, moisten with water and press gently along the top edge of the pastry. Dock the bottom of the pie shell with a fork. Chill the pastry shell for at least 30 minutes (up to a day).
Weight the pie shell. Place two sheets of aluminum foil over the pie shell, gently covering the outside trim. Use pie weights, dried rice or dried beans (about 2 cups/500 mL) and pour these on top of the foil, spreading them out to the edges.
Bake the pie for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the foil together with the pie weights (this is why you double up on the foil).
Return the pan to the oven to bake for 10 minutes more, until the edges of the pastry are light brown and the bottom of the pastry appears dry but still pale.
Brush the pie shell, hot from the oven, with lightly whisked egg white. Cool the pie shell in its pan on a rack before filling.
Set the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a plate with paper towel.
Slice the bacon into lardons (narrow strips). In a large sauté pan over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp, stirring often. Transfer the bacon to the lined plate to drain. Reserve 2 tbsp of the bacon fat from the pan and discard the rest. Add the onions, carrots and mushrooms and sauté over medium heat, stirring often, until the onions appear translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the beer, salt, pepper and nutmeg and simmer the vegetables until all of the liquid has evaporated, about 8 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat to cool to room temperature.
Whisk the eggs well and then whisk in the whipping and half-&-half creams. (Whisk your eggs very well before adding any liquids to ensure the eggs are well blended.)
Line a baking tray with parchment paper and place the partially blind-baked pastry shell on top (still in its pan). Sprinkle the cooled vegetables over the bottom of the pie, then sprinkle with the bacon, followed by the cheese. Carefully pour the eggs into the pastry, giving them time to cascade and fill in between the vegetables, bacon and cheese. The quiche will not be filled to the top of the pan, but the eggs will expand as the quiche bakes.
Bake the quiche for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (180°C) and continue to bake for about 20 minutes more, until the quiche is set and golden brown.
Cool the quiche in its pan on a rack for at least 15 minutes before slicing to serve warm.