Salmon Comes Back to Life

Bryce caught a lot of salmon last summer.  Which was great.  And fresh salmon on the grill is one of my most favorite meals ever.  But salmon that's been in the freezer all winter?  Not so much.  We just haven't been eating it anymore, so I decided to pull some of the old stuff out and smoke it.  Delicious.  Now we can finish off that stash before the new ones start rolling in!

I made this smoked salmon and goat cheese quiche last night that was incredibly tasty.  Even Porter ate it, which is saying a lot for someone that doesn't really like eggs.  I make my fair share of quiches with all the eggs we have, but I had never made one with goat cheese before.  It really made the dish.

Smoked Salmon Goat Cheese Quiche
adapted from Simply Recipes

1 recipe pie dough
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
6 ounces smoked salmon, broken up
4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
5 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
grated zest of one lemon
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350.  Roll out dough and place into a 10 inch tart pan.  You can use any kind of pan, but using a deeper pie dish might make the cooking time longer.  Line pastry with parchment paper and fill with dried beans or pie weights.  Bake for 15 minutes, remove from oven at let cool a few minutes.  Carefully remove parchment paper and weights.  Poke the bottom a few times with a fork, and return to oven.  Bake for 10 minutes more or until just barely golden.  Cool while making filling.

Cook the onions in the olive oil over medium heat until soft.  Whisk eggs in a bowl with milk, cream, basil, lemon zest and pepper. 

Scatter the cooked onions in the bottom of the pan.  Put half of the smoked salmon and half of the goat cheese on top of the onions.  Pour over half the egg mixture.  Then place the rest of the salmon and cheese in the pan, followed by the rest of the eggs.  Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes until set and lightly browned on top.  Cool for 10 minutes before serving.  Great with a green salad for a summer meal.