Recipe: Mushroom and Onion Quiche

I'm going through some nesting instinct here, so bear with me and all these cooking posts.  Always wanted to make my own quiche!  Sounds like labor intensive?  It's a lot simpler than I'd imagined....  This is made with what the French called duxelles.  For extra flavor, add 1/4 oz dried Italian mushrooms, soaked and finely chopped.  Or grated cheese.

Quiche Pastry
4 oz plain flour
1 oz lard (or vegetable shortening)
1 oz margarine or butter
a pinch of salt
cold water, to mix

Mushroom and Onion Filling
8 oz mushrooms, chopped very, very small
1 medium onion, chopped very small
1 oz butter
2 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
10 fl. oz heavy cream (cream is best but can be substituted with milk.  I use natural yogurt.)
freshly grated nutmeg
salt and freshly milled black pepper

This will be enough for a lightly-greased 8" quiche or flan tin with fluted edges.  Make up the pastry, then let it rest for 20-30 minutes in a polythene bag in the fridge.  Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F, with a baking sheet placed on the center shelf.

Heat butter in a frypan and soften the onion in it for 5 minutes or so.  Now stir in the chopped mushrooms and let it all cook gently (uncovered) for ~30 minutes or until most of the juice has evaporated -- giving it a stir quite often.

Then roll out the pastry and line the tin with it, easing any overlapping pastry back into the sides if you can.  Be careful to press firmly on the base and sides, then prick with a fork all over.

Bake the pastry case for 15 minutes on the center shelf, then remove it from the oven and paint the inside of it, all over, with some of the beaten egg to be used in the filling ingredients, and pop it back into the oven to set for a further 5 minutes. [On left-hand side: you can see the result of not pressing the pastry firmly enough into the pan -- it separated from the dish! My bad.]

Beat the eggs thoroughly, then whisk the cream into them and season with salt, pepper, and a small grating of nutmeg.

Transfer the filling to the tart with a draining spoon, and arrange it evenly over the base.

Pour the mixture over the filling and bake for a further 30-40 minutes until the quiche is set in the center and has turned golden-brown and looks puffy.

Serve straight from the oven, if possible (though this does reheat quite well).