Smoked Salmon & Spinach Quiche

As the weather warms up people are looking for lighter ideas for lunch and dinner, so a well made quiche fits the bill.  It should be creamy from the egg custard; the pastry should be fully cooked, light and buttery; and the balance of the flavours should make you want another slice. 

Ingredients

120 grams Smoked Salmon

200 grams Cream Cheese or ricotto

6 large Eggs

250 ml Whole Milk

10 grams fresh Dill chopped

200g Baby Spinach

35 grams of grated Parmesan or Padano cheese

20 grams butter

1/2 TBsp olive oil

Nutmeg to taste

Short Crust Pastry

260 grams Plain Flour

140 g Butter

1 Large Egg

¼ teaspoon salt

1 -2 Tbsp cold water

 I used a 10 ½ inch 26 cm ceramic quiche dish

Pastry:

  1. Rub the flour and butter together in a large bowl until you have a sandy texture.  Now add the salt and mix in well. 
  2. Make a well in the centre of flour and butter mixture and pour in a large well beaten egg.  Gently stir the dry mix into the egg to bring the pastry together.  Finally add 1-2 tablespoons of ice cold water into the pastry just enough to bring it together.
  3. Shape the pastry into a thick disk then cling wrap  and rest in the fridge for 1 hour before using.
  4. Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured pastry board until it is about 3mm- 4mm in thickness. Roll the pastry onto your rolling pin and gently unroll the pastry into the dish.
  5. Once you have the pastry in place, crimp the edges of the pastry then prick the bottom with a fork to prevent the pastry from rising.
  6. Make a circle of baking paper and lay it inside the pastry and weigh it down with ceramic baking beads or raw rice.
  7. Blind bake the pastry for 20 minutes in a preheated oven 180 C fan assisted (190 C if no fan) oven on the middle shelf. After 20 minutes remove the baking paper and the ceramic beads and bake for a further 5 minutes, until very lightly brown and allow to cool.
Blind Baked Shortcrust Pastry

Making the Quiche mix:

  1. Beat the eggs with a whisk in a large bowl together with 200 grams cream cheese until the cheese is well mixed in. Season lightly with salt and black pepper and whisk in the fresh chopped dill.
  2. Whisk in 250 ml milk and return to the fridge until needed.
  3. Wash the baby spinach and then drain well in a salad spinner. Heat 20grams of butter in a large frying pan or wok and add ½ Tbsp olive oil.  Wilt the spinach on a medium heat for a couple of minutes and season lightly with salt and pepper and a little grated nutmeg. Remove the spinach from the pan and allow to cool. 
  4. Chop up the smoked salmon into thin strips and reserve.
  5. Chop up the spinach a little once it is cool enough to handle.
  6. Spread the chopped spinach into the pastry case. Next sprinkle on the smoked salmon.
  7. Ladle the egg mixture into the quiche and then sprinkle the grated cheese on top.
  8. Bake in your preheated oven 180 C (fan assisted) for 30 minutes on a middle shelf, then turn the heat down to 165 C for a further 10 minutes until set and lightly brown.
  9. Allow the quiche to cool for 30 minutes before slicing.

Chef’s Notes:

Cut into portions and freeze some for later.  I usually leave a couple of portions in the fridge and freeze the rest.  Quiche freezes well as long as it is well wrapped. I prefer to use a ceramic dish for quiches rather a flan tin with a removable bottom as these can sometimes cause a leak of the egg custard as the quiche cooks.  This leaking can also cause the pastry to be chewy rather than flaky and buttery.

Here is a close to show you the creamy texture I wanted to create.

Smoked Salmon & Spinach Quiche closeup

Smoked Salmon and Spinach Quiche©Kevin Ashton 2025

21 thoughts on “Smoked Salmon & Spinach Quiche”

  1. This looks absolutely delicious! I believe British asparagus will be coming into season shortly, would this work as alternative to spinach?

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    1. Hello and welcome back to the blog.

      Yes Asparagus would work in this quiche. If the Asparagus is very tender and small slim spears, then cut into bite size pieces and rub on a little olive oil and they will cook in the quiche. If the asparagus spears are larger then you need to blanch them in boiling salted water for 1-2 minutes, cool under cold running water, drain and then add the quiche, at the same point you add the spinach.
      Best Wishes
      Kevin

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  3. What a great recipe with all of my favorite things, Chef! I have had to take over cooking for my husband and me while he recovers from back surgery. I do think I will make this for us!

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  5. Excellent recipe! Your instructions are clear, and the combination of smoked salmon and spinach sounds fantastic. I especially like the attention to detail, like the choice of dish. I’ll definitely give it a try!

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind and thoughtful comment. I do try hard to strike a balance between enough instructions and not too much, so the reader feels confident to have a go.
      I often get my wife to proof read the recipe to see if it makes sense to her. She too writes for a living and is a great proof reader.
      Best Wishes
      Kevin 🙂

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