Arugula Mushroom Quiche

Arugula and mushrooms team up in this slightly peppery, umami-rich vegetarian quiche. Recipe below.

ONE OF LIFE’S LITTLE PLEASURES FOR US is looking in the fridge and seeing leftover quiche, ready to be gently reheated or, honestly, just eaten cold. We’re experiencing that now, thanks to my recent urge to actually make a quiche.

We often make a similar vegetarian Spinach Mushroom Quiche, but swapped out the spinach with fresh arugula, which imparts the very slightest peppery quality. The mushrooms (we used baby bellas this time—actually small crimini—but button mushrooms work well too) deliver their reliable almost meaty umami.

Regarding the piecrust, we used a store-bought frozen one this time because we had it on hand. And it was fine. But we much prefer to make our own, using this really easy food processor recipe. If you have your own go-to piecrust recipe, use that. Or store-bought—no judgment here. One lovely trick we often use when making quiche is to spread a little Dijon mustard in the bottom of the par-baked crust. It sharpens the flavor of the cheeses without giving its own mustardy taste. You can do this or not.

At a little over an hour start to finish (using a store-bought crust), Arugula Mushroom Quiche is a weeknight quickish dish—or an easy weekend project. Give it a try. You may come to enjoy finding leftover quiche in your fridge as much as we do.

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Arugula Mushroom Quiche

Arugula and mushrooms team up in this slightly peppery, umami-rich vegetarian quiche.

Servings 6

Ingredients

• 1 store-bought pie crust, a deep 9-inch one, if frozen (or preferably homemade—see Kitchen Notes for an easy recipe, or other options)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium shallot, chopped—about 1/3 to 1/2 cup
• 3 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced (we used baby bellas—see Kitchen Notes)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (optional, but nice)
• 4 ounces baby arugula, coarsely chopped
• salt
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup half & half
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1-1/2 cups coarsely grated Gruyere (you can also use Swiss)
• 1/4 cup coarsely grated Parmesan

Instructions

• Par-bake the crust. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. While the oven is heating, put the pie crust in its tin on the counter and let it thaw slightly, so you can prick it all over with a fork. Line the pie shell with foil or parchment paper, then weight it with dried beans or pie weights. Bake the crust until slightly golden on the edges, about 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and remove weights, simply picking the foil or parchment at the corners.
• Meanwhile, make the filling. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium flame. Add shallot and cook, stirring frequently, for a minute or two. Add mushrooms and toss to coat with oil. Add parsley and toss to coat. Cook for about 3 minutes, turning the mushrooms halfway through.
• Add chopped arugula to pan, salt lightly and toss to combine every thing. Cover with a lid and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring once or twice. The mushrooms will release liquid, helping the arugula cook down. Uncover pan and cook another 2 to 3 minutes, allowing excess liquid to cook off.
• Beat eggs in a bowl, then add half & half and beat to combine. Set aside.
• Assemble and bake the quiche. Spread the Dijon mustard in the bottom of the crust (this is optional, but the mustard sharpens the cheese flavors without imparting its own taste). Put mushroom/arugula mixture into the crust and gently spread with a fork to evenly distribute it. Sprinkle cheese evenly over the filling. Pour the egg mixture over the top, using your fork to gently help it settle in around the filling.
• Transfer to the middle rack of the oven and bake the quiche until it has puffed up and is set and beautifully browned, about 25 to 35 minutes. You can test with a sharp knife to make sure the middle is set.
• Cool on a rack at least 10 minutes, then serve. You can also serve it room temperature, but I think warm is best. See Kitchen Notes about reheating leftovers.

Kitchen Notes

Let’s talk crust. If you use a frozen crust, go for a deep 9-inch one to accommodate all the filling. We’ve also been using fresh rolled pie dough you find refrigerated in stores. When you’re ready to use one, just let it come to room temperature, then gently roll it out into your lightly oiled or buttered pie plate (they suggest glass), then press into place. And if you want to make your own crust, you’ll find our simple recipe here.

Pick your own mushrooms. We used baby bella mushrooms (small crimini), but feel free to substitute button or other mushrooms—or a mix thereof.

Reheating leftovers. First, do NOT microwave your quiche. The crust will turn soggy. We reheated ours in a toaster oven because we were just doing two slices; the same approach works for the oven. Here’s how:

• Remove quiche from fridge and let it come to room temperature.
• If you’re just reheating a slice or two, cut those and transfer to a sheet of foil that will fit in the toaster oven on its wire rack. You might also put strips of foil over the crust edges to keep it from browning too much.
• Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Transfer quiche slices, still on the foil, into the oven. Heat until thoroughly warmed through, 10 to 20 minutes—you can remove the foil from the crust for the last few minutes to let it brown a little.
• If you're reheating an entire quiche, definitely use your oven; you can leave it in the pie plate to do it.