It’s no surprise my trip to Chicago for the HOW Design Live conference was a blur. I flew in Monday evening and flew out Thursday morning, and only left the hotel once for a team dinner at Le Colonial. The best and most unexpected part of the excursion? Bumping into and catching up with fellow food blogger Bryn Mooth. She even surprised me with a signed copy of her first cookbook!
Needless to say, I was anxious to get back in the kitchen. And no sooner had I wished for it than I was home. Rookie greeted me with plenty of kisses and I was invited to pick up a new mystery basket at my local Whole Foods.
Come Saturday, I couldn’t wait to put the goodies – especially the ramps – to use. I’d seen these wild onions featured in magazines and online but had never cooked with them.
So I did a little research and settled on baking this ramp and mushroom quiche, because who doesn’t love a buttery crust filled with eggs and milk?
This dish involves quite a few steps – making a compound butter, preparing dough, roasting garlic, sautéing vegetables – but the effort is well worth it. If you’re fortunate to get your hands on ramps this spring, consider taking this recipe for a spin. Or let me know how you enjoy them!
Recipe adapted from Kitchen Tested.
- 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 3 ramps, finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt, divided
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 3-4 tablespoons ice water
- 1 head garlic
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 12 ramps, divided
- 6 ounces shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup grated Asiago cheese
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- In a small bowl, combine the butter, ramps, thyme, ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to a piece of plastic wrap and roll gently to form a log; twist ends to seal. Refrigerate until firm.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour and remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Add the ramp butter and rub it into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it resembles coarse meal. Add 3 tablespoons water and mix with a fork. If it is crumbly, add more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the ingredients start to come together. Then use your hands to lightly knead the dough in the bowl until it forms a ball. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and shape into a disc; wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. On a lightly floured work surface, roll it out to a 14" circle. Carefully transfer the dough to a 9” springform pan, pressing it against the bottom and sides. Use a sharp knife to trim the edge of the dough so it comes about 2 inches up the side of the pan. Transfer the crust to the freezer and let chill while you prepare the filling.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cut about ¼ inch off the top of the head of garlic. Place garlic on a piece of foil, drizzle with olive oil and fold to enclose. Bake for 30 minutes and then remove from the oven and let cool.
- Meanwhile, heat butter in a fry pan over medium heat. Thinly slice 9 ramps and separate white and green parts. Add the white parts to the fry pan and sauté for about 2 minutes or until soft. Add the mushrooms and sauté until they are tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool.
- In a medium bowl, combine the eggs and milk and whisk until smooth. Stir in the Asiago cheese, salt, pepper, cooked vegetables and green parts of ramps.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove the crust from the freezer. Carefully pour the filling into the crust.
- Slice 4 roasted garlic cloves and scatter over filling. Top with remaining 3 ramps.
- Fold edge of dough over the filling and brush with some of the filling liquid.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the filling is slightly puffed and golden, and the tip of a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove quiche from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Then remove ring and transfer quiche to a wire rack to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.
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This quiche is beautiful! And makes perfect use of fresh and seasonal produce as well. Though I can’t get my hands on ramps here in Australia – I definitely will be making it. Do you think that spinach will substitute equally as well?
Thanks, Thalia! I think spinach would work well and you could use shallots to replace the ramp “whites.” Green onions might also be a good substitute. Enjoy!