I follow an Instagram account called Stephen Cooks French, all one word, of course, which always messes with my brain. A recent photo of his that he posted was a tarte au saumon fumé, or a smoked salmon tart, pictured here.
According to Stephen, the crust is puff pastry, topped with a seasoned fromage blanc with chives, baked, cooled, then smoked salmon is layered on top.
Loving all things salmon, I immediately searched for recipes. There were many similar, but the one that jumped out to me was a smoked salmon quiche with tomatoes.
What I like about this recipe is that it isn’t too quiche-y, so the tomatoes and smoked salmon really shine. The cheese element is crème fraiche, which is perfect because it’s not salty.
One day I will make the tarte au saumon fumé, and serve it as a first course. Or as Stephen, whoever the heck he is, suggested, cut it into squares and serve as an hors d’oeuvre.
Smoked Salmon and Tomato Quiche
1 pie crust for 9 1/2” pie pan, not deep-dish
Smoked salmon, about 5 ounces, cut up
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
8 ounces crème fraiche
5 or so small-medium ripe tomatoes
Salt and pepper
Chopped chives, optional
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the pie crust in the pie pan and keep chilled in the refrigerator.
Cut up the smoked salmon in small pieces and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolk, and crème fraiche.
Slice the tomatoes evenly and use the most uniform slices only, not the ends. Lay on paper towels to dry for at least 15 minutes, also laying paper towels on top.
When ready to prepare the quiche, place the smoked salmon inside the pie crust.
Give the egg-crème fraiche mixture a whisk and pour over the top gently.
Then top the quiche with the tomato slices, and season them with salt and pepper.
Bake for 30 minutes, then lower the temperature to 325 degrees and cook for ten more minutes.
Let the quiche set for at least 15 minutes, then slice and serve.
This quiche was fantastic. The smoked salmon cooked slightly but no too much to alter its lox texture.
And the creme fraiche was perfect with the salmon and seasoned tomatoes.
