Chicken and Mushroom Quiche with homemade shortcrust pastry – Dairy-free version

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Wrapping Dough

1. 1
   Put the flour in a bowl.

   Bowl
2. 2
   Add the cold butter in cubes and rub it in with your fingertips, until coarse crumbs form.

   💡The butter must stay cold: butter that melts in your hands gives a hard dough instead of a crumbly one. Work quickly, and if the dough warms up, put it back in the fridge.
3. 3
   Add the egg and cold water and quickly bring together with your hands, without kneading, just until the dough comes together.

   💡Knead as little as possible: long kneading develops gluten, and the dough comes out tough and shrinks in the oven.
4. 4
   Whip the soft butter with the sugar, until pale and fluffy.

   BowlHand mixerorStand mixerorWhisk

   💡Cream the butter soft, at room temperature: cold butter doesn't take in air, and melted butter doesn't hold it.
5. 5
   Wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least 30 minutes.

   Plastic wrapRefrigerator

   💡Chilling firms the butter and relaxes the gluten: the dough rolls out easily, doesn't stick to the counter and doesn't shrink in the oven.
6. 6
   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. 7
   Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat.

   StoveFrying pan
2. 8
   Add the onion and fry for 8–10 minutes, stirring, until the onion is soft and deep golden.

   Stove

   💡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. 9
   Preheat the oven to 180°C (355°F).

   Oven

   💡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. 10
   Add the chicken and fry 5 minutes.

   Stove
3. 11
   Add the mushrooms and thyme and fry another 5 minutes, until their liquid evaporates.

   Stove

   💡Chicken and mushrooms go into the filling already fried: the mushrooms release their water in the pan and not in the crust.
4. 12
   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. 13
   Roll out the dough and line round baking pan with it. Prick the bottom of the dough with a fork.

   Rolling 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. 14
   Bake the crust on its own at 180°C (355°F) 10 minutes, until it is lightly golden.

   OvenRound pan

   💡Check by the cue (until…), not just the clock: every oven bakes a little differently.
7. 15
   Pour the filling into the crust.
8. 16
   Bake at 180°C (355°F) 35 minutes, until the filling is set and golden.

   OvenRound pan
9. 17
   Serve hot.