May 21

May 21 Ramp and Mushroom Quiche

Ramps are a tasty plant found in the wild from late April to early June. If you like foraging or are lucky enough to have a forager at your farmers market, you can find this short-lived tasty ingredient. Ramps (a member of the Allium family), are essentially wild leeks that add a unique bold garlicky flavor to any dish and can be used in place of scallions, leeks, or shallots. You can eat the whole ramp or just work with the leaves. In this case, I used only the leaves.

I recently went to The Farm Cooking School in Titusville, PA for a cooking workshop that included the springtime classics - ramps and asparagus. I love taking the time to learn something new about using seasonal ingredients. They were having their “Garden Festival” and farmers market (from Roots to River Farm) that day as well, so there were other fun things to do, see, and buy. [Postscript - The Farm Cooking School is no longer running, but one of its founders now runs Shelly’s Table.]

The quiche recipe they provided in the workshop was a winner. I altered this recipe slightly to incorporate the oyster and shiitake mushrooms I cultivated at home. (See Growing Mushrooms in Grow Kits to learn more.) We used a 10x15 baking sheet in the workshop, which I altered at home to use two pie tins that have removable bottoms. (I find it easier to cut quiche by removing it from the rim). This allowed us to eat one and freeze one.

Want to do more with ramps? Check out my Ramp Pesto recipe as well for a tasty pesto for pasta, pizza, or any dish.

Ramp and Mushroom Quiche

INGREDIENTS

CRUST:

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
6 ounces (1 ½ sticks), cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 ounces (4 tablespoons) vegetable shortening
6 to 8 tablespoons ice cold water

FILLING:

2 bunches (about 8 ounces) ramp leaves, rinsed well
2 cups chopped fresh mushrooms
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 quart heavy cream
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
8 ounces Fontina, Taleggio, Gruyere or other melting cheese, coarsely grated

Our shiitake and oyster mushrooms from grow kits

Make and blind bake the crust:

In a large bowl, blend together flour and salt.
Add butter, and shortening and blend. (You can use a pastry blender, mixer with a dough attachment, or food processor.) Blend just until most of mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps.
Drizzle evenly with 6 tablespoons ice water and gently stir with a fork (or using the mixer, blender, or food processor) until incorporated.
Squeeze a small handful: If it doesn't hold together, add the other tablespoon or 2 of water, combining until just incorporated, then test again. (Do not overwork mixture, or pastry will be tough.)
Mound the mixture onto a work surface. With the heel of your hand, smear a portion of the dough outward to work in the butter, continue with the rest of the dough, one portion at a time.
Gather dough together with a pastry scraper and press into a ball, then flatten into a disk. Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Divide the dough into two equal parts. Roll out dough on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a circle that can fit a 9-inch pie tin. Trim edges if necessary so they slightly overhang edges of the pan. Repeat for second pie tin.
Lightly prick bottom all over with a fork. Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights or raw beans or rice.
Bake until pastry is set and pale golden along the rim, 15 to 20 minutes.
Carefully remove foil and weights and bake shell until golden all over, 10 minutes more. Transfer to a rack and keep the oven on.

Make the filling while the crust is baking:

Sauté mushrooms in olive oil for about 10 minutes or until golden and softened. Stir occasionally.
Stack the ramps and roll tightly, cut the roll into thin strips with a chef’s knife. In a 3-5 quart pot, put the ramps, mushrooms, and the cream, and bring to a boil. Let boil or simmer vigorously (be careful not to let the mixture boil over) until ramps are tender and cream is reduced and thickened slightly about 20 minutes.
Season mixture with salt and pepper. Lightly beat the eggs in a large bowl and slowly add the cream mixture to temper the eggs. Pour mixture into the baked crust, spreading ramps evenly. Top with the grated cheese.
Bake until filling is set, 20 to 30 minutes.