Maple-Apple Quiche with Brie and Sopressatta

From that starting point, my mind wandered until it settled on this quiche, which I knew would be perfect – apples caramelized in maple syrup, brie and aged gouda, sopressatta for just a little spice. And it was perfect. I didn’t get around to making it until last night, when, along with a fresh pea and radish salad I’ll share with you later this week, it made a filling and comforting dinner after a lovely day working in the garden.

Maple-Apple Quiche with Brie and Sopressatta

Serves 6.

• 1 1/4 c. flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 stick butter, cut into small cubes, then placed in freezer
• 3-6 TBS ice cold water
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 c. heavy cream
• 3/4 c. milk
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 4 oz. aged gouda, grated
• 4 oz. fresh brie, thinly sliced
• 2 medium apples, cored and sliced
• 1/4 c. maple syrup
• small pat of butter
• 1/4 c. diced sopressatta

1. Make the crust: In a large bowl, mix together flour and salt.  Add in frozen butter cubes, and use a pastry cutter to blend until the mixture has the texture of coarse sand, with pea-sized chunks.  Add the ice water 1 TBS at a time, stirring with a fork between additions to moisten dough.  Use as little water as possible to get the dough to come together – I’ve never been able to accomplish this with less than 6 TBS, but some people can do it with only 1 or 2 TBS.  Shape dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap, then refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 375°F.  In a large frying pan, place pat of butter, and melt over medium heat.  Add maple syrup and apple slices, and cook, stirring occasionally, until apples are soft, about 5-10 minutes depending on the thickness of your slices.  Add diced sopressatta and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.  Remove all from heat.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, milk, nutmeg, and gouda, until fully combined.  Set aside
4. Flour your counter and a rolling pin, and roll out the chilled dough into a 11-inch circle.  Place dough circle over 9 inch quiche or pie pan, and press gently into the sides.  You can either trim off the extra that hangs over the edge, or leave it, as we did.  Poke a handful of holes in the bottom of the crust (this is to prevent the crust from bubbling – you can also use pie weights instead) and place in preheated oven for 15 minutes, checking part way through to make sure the bottom isn’t bubbling up (if it is, poke gently with a knife to allow the air to escape).  Crust should be beginning to brown.  Remove from oven, and layer apples, sopressatta, and brie on the bottom.  Pour egg mixture over the top.  Carefully place in oven, and bake for 30-35 minutes, until top of quiche is golden brown, and the egg mixture is cooked all the way through.  Enjoy hot, warm, or cold!