I know this is a bit redundant with the Daring Bakers post earlier this week, but I did end up making a quiche with the leftover filling, and it turned out so well, I wanted to share.  Also, I realized I’ve never shared my quiche recipe with you, which comes from Matt’s grandmother by way of my mother-in-law.  She always filled it with bacon and swiss cheese, but here I used the mushroom barley filling from the strudel instead of the bacon (though I added a couple slices of bacon, too).  Also, I usually use cream but I didn’t have any so I substituted the buttermilk I had on hand from making a strawberry buttermilk cake.  I’ll be repeating that substitution — it added a nice rich tang.

I’ll admit that the mushroom barley filling made the quiche just a tad watery, but the flavor was so good we really didn’t mind.  Matt said “I didn’t even notice I hadn’t put hot sauce on it until I was more than halfway through a slice,” and usually even his favorite quiche, from his grandmother, is drowning in it before he even starts eating.  So I considered that high praise indeed!

Mushroom Barley Quiche

dough for 1 pie crust (homemade or storebought)

1 c mushroom barley filling (see link)
2 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled

3 eggs
3/4 c buttermilk (or cream)
3/4 c milk
1 1/2 T flour
6 oz swiss cheese, in small chunks or grated
1/4 t salt
1/4 t fresh ground pepper
1/4 t fresh (or ground) nutmeg

1 T grated cheddar cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 F. Roll out the dough and place it in a 9″ pie pan. Spread the mushroom barley filling over the bottom and sprinkle on the bacon.

In a blender, combine the eggs and the rest of the filling ingredients, through the nutmeg. Pulse several times. The cheese won’t get completely smooth, but everything else will. You can also whisk this all together by hand, but I think using the blender makes for a smoother quiche (another tip from Granny Pat via Kay).

Pour egg mixture over the filling. Stir a bit to distribute things evenly, especially the cheese. Optionally, sprinkle on a bit of grated cheddar. (I happened to have some on hand, and I think sprinkling it on top helped to get the top nice and golden.)

Bake at 400 F for 10 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350 and bake for about another 30 minutes. Let cool 5-10 minutes before serving so it’s “set” a bit better.