Savory smoked salmon quiche, sweet butternut squash tarts, a strip of smoked salmon and a mug of black French roast coffee make for a hearty Fisherman’s Breakfast. 

Whether served as breakfast, lunch or dinner, we’re big fans of quiche. It’s easy to make, and since it’s delicious either hot or cold, there are no complaints about leftovers. In making this particular quiche, I set out to resolve two questions. First, would smoked salmon that has been frozen and then thawed work well, and second would the Penzeys dried shallots I’d recently gotten live up to their billing. I’m happy to report that the smoked salmon seemed to suffer not at all from freezing, and the dried shallots were flavorful enough to merit making them a standard part of our kitchen here in the Alaskan bush.

For the squash pie, I used a modification of Craig Claiborne’s pumpkin pie recipe that has long served well. Since the baking times and temperatures for these two pies was similar, I baked them together. We had a bit of squash purée and pie crust dough left over, so Barbra used a muffin pan to make a few squash tarts.

Smoked Salmon Quiche

Ingredients:

• 1 pie crust
• 4 large eggs
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup shredded Swiss or Gruyère cheese
• 1/4 cup shallots chopped fine (I used Penzeys dried shallots,which were excellent)
• 1/2 cup mushrooms, cut into less-than-bite-sized pieces
• 1/3 to 1/2 pound smoked salmon, cut into less-than-bite-sized pieces
• 1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes, cut into small pieces
• 1 tsp dried majoram
• sea salt to taste
• freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake pie crust for 20 minutes. Halfway through baking, cover edges with aluminum foil or a pie ring to prevent edge of crust from burning.
2. Remove the pie crust from the oven and set aside.
3. Turn oven up to 400 degrees F.
4. Whisk eggs until blended. Add cream, milk, shallots, marjoram, salt and pepper and mix together.
5. Add mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and smoked salmon, mixing together gently so as not to break up the salmon.
6. Pour and scrape ingredients into the baked pie crust and place on oven’s center rack. You do not need to place on a baking sheet.
7. Bake quiche at 400 degrees F. for 15 minutes. Turn down oven to 350 degrees F. and continue baking for 25 – 35 minutes – until a wooden toothpick poked into the center comes out clean.
8. Serve hot or cold.

Butternut Squash Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 pie crust
• 3 cups butternut squash (or pumpkin) purée
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp powdered ginger
• 3 large eggs, lightly whisked
• 2 tablespoons Bourbon (optional, but very tasty)
• 1 cup heavy cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Have a chilled, unbaked pie crust ready.
3. Squash purée: Cut away the stem of the squash and discard. Then slice squash into into round discs approximately 1 inch thick. Cut the disks into 4 to 6 parts. When you get to the bulb, remove the seeds and fibrous part and slice into 6 strips as you would a pumpkin or melon. Steam, oven roast or grill the squash until a fork passes easily through the flesh. Let cool and cut off the skin. Use a stick blender, regular blender or food processor to purée the squash.
4. Combine the purée with all the other ingredients in a large mixing bowl, blend together, and pour into the chilled pie crust.
5. Place on oven’s center rack. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees F. and continue baking for 30 or 40 minutes, until the filling is set. Cracks will begin to appear on the surface of the pie when the filling is set.
6. Serve warm or chilled, with or without whipped cream.

For a great recipe for making smoked salmon, see Smoked Salmon with Soy Sauce and Brown Sugar Brine.