Quiche with Chanterelle and Serrano ham

Finnish summer weather fades into Autumn when chanterelle mushrooms (girolle) start to appear en masses in August in Scandinavian mossy coniferous forests. They are by far the most popular wild mushrooms in Finland, probably because they are easy to recognize, worm-free and have a mild taste. I personally prefer penny buns (porcino) as they are tastier and more versatile, however to enjoy those without worms one must wait until the end of August. Anyhow, I bought some chanterelles from the market today as children wanted me to prepare a quiche for dinner.

You need a small bowl of grated cheese (I used up a piece of pecorino Toscano), 5-6 slices of Spanish jamón serrano or Italian prociutto crudo, couple of garlic cloves, a shallot, fresh sage, chanterelles and quiche pastry.

(For pastry: cream together 100 g soft salted butter and a tsp sugar. Add 180-200 g plain flour, 2 egg yolks and couple of tbsp of cold water. Bring it together, wrap it in cling film and refrigerate for atleast 30 min.)

Fry the mushrooms with chopped shallots, garlic and sage until most of liquid mushrooms give off has evaporated.

Prepare the egg-milk-cheese mixture: combine 3 eggs with 150-200 ml milk/cream and grated cheese in a bowl and season with salt and black pepper.

Sprinkle the chopped ham and fried mushrooms into the pastry base and add pour in egg-milk-cheese mixture.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. Allow the quiche to cool and set further. My children could hardly wait as the smell of this savoury tart was so appetizing.

Refreshing and simple tomato salad with pinch of salt and olive oil works well with quiche.