Chicken and Mushroom Quiche – Dairy-free version

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Wrapping Dough

1. 1
   Thaw the shortcrust pastry in the fridge overnight, until pliable but still cold.

   Refrigerator

   💡Work with store-bought dough while it's cold: warm puff pastry gets sticky and won't puff in the oven, and phyllo sheets dry out fast, so keep the waiting sheets covered with a damp towel.

For the Fried onion

1. 2
   Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveFrying pan
2. 3
   Add the onion and fry for 8–10 minutes, stirring, until the onion is soft and deep golden.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.

To assemble

1. 4
   Preheat the oven to 180°C (355°F).

   ⚙ Preheating the OvenOven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
2. 5
   Add the chicken and fry 5 minutes.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove
3. 6
   Add the mushrooms and thyme and fry another 5 minutes, until their liquid evaporates.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Chicken and mushrooms go into the filling already fried: the mushrooms release their water in the pan and not in the crust.
4. 7
   Beat the eggs and cream and add the cheese, salt and black pepper and the onion with the chicken and the mushrooms.

   💡The onion goes into the filling soft and golden: in the oven it won't soften any further, and raw onion releases liquid into the crust.
5. 8
   Roll out the dough and line round baking pan with it. Prick the bottom of the dough with a fork.

   ⚙ Rolling Out DoughRolling pin

   💡Roll from the center outward and give the dough a quarter turn between rolls: this keeps it even in thickness and stops it sticking to the counter. If it springs back, cover for 10–15 minutes and try again.
6. 9
   Bake the crust on its own at 180°C (355°F) 10 minutes, until it is lightly golden.

   ⚙ BakingOvenRound pan

   💡Check by the cue (until…), not just the clock: every oven bakes a little differently.
7. 10
   Pour the filling into the crust.
8. 11
   Bake at 180°C (355°F) 35 minutes, until the filling is set and golden.

   ⚙ BakingOvenRound pan
9. 12
   Serve hot.