Quiche is one of those dishes that’s good anytime. It works as a breakfast. It was made for brunch and/or lunch. And in a pinch, it makes for a really great dinner too. All you need to make it a complete meal is a simple side salad. And all of the work is done upfront. I love making a quiche on the weekend and revisiting it throughout the week. To me, quiche is the ultimate in make-ahead luxury. Today, I’m taking my classic quiche recipe and giving it the nicoise treatment. So naturally, I called it the Nicoise Quiche or Quiche Nicoise, if you want to be French about it. It’s a fully loaded quiche, so much so that my crust nearly runneth over. So dig out your deep-dish pie plate and let’s make this beauty.
Nicoise salad or Salade niçoise courts a lot of controversy. People seemed to love arguing over what has a place and (more importantly) what doesn’t in this storied salad. Most renditions of Niçoise salad in North America include tomatoes, olives, tuna, green beans, baby potatoes, and hard-boiled eggs. Some include additional toppings like artichoke hearts, anchovies, and shallots. But purists reject the inclusion of any cooked toppings. The presence of potatoes seems to be particularly polarizing. According to them, Salade niçoise should be made with only raw vegetables. Cookbook author and former mayor of Nice (the salad’s hometown) Jacques Médecin claimed that Salade niçoise should be predominantly tomatoes with anchovies or tuna as an accent.
You will find a lot more than tomatoes in this Nicoise Quiche. In fact, you will find all of the toppings purists disagree with in this quiche. This isn’t to be controversial, I just can’t bring myself to uninvite a potato to, well, anything. So this is not a traditional take on Salade niçoise. It seemed a bit silly to strive for authenticity when you’re turning a classic salad into a quiche.
We’re going to start things off by making the pastry. Pour some flour into a large bowl and add salt and a little sugar. While this is a savory dish, I like to add a little sugar to my pastry for balance. I promise the pastry will still tip toward the savory side. So have no fear. Whisk all the dry ingredients together. Add some chopped unsalted butter and cut into the dry ingredients. I like to use the rubbing method for this. With the rubbing method, you take bits of butter and roll them between your thumb and index fingers to create fine leaves of butter. If you would prefer not to use your hands, a pastry cutter works as well.
Pour ice water into the pastry and stir until a shaggy ball of dough forms. Transfer the pastry to a counter and lightly knead it until it comes together. Be light and quick with your movements, the dough doesn’t have to be completely smooth or uniform. It’s better if it’s not. Just give it enough encouragement to form a smooth-ish ball. Now, press that ball into a disc and wrap it with parchment paper. Chill for 30 minutes. Roll the pastry out and line a deep-dish pie plate with it. Crimp the edges and return it to the fridge to chill for another 30 minutes. This is a good time to preheat your oven to 375°F.
While the dough is on its second chilling interlude, let’s prep those controversial potatoes. Slice fingerling potatoes in half. People tend to use new potatoes or baby potatoes in the Salade niçoise but I like fingerling potatoes best, so that’s what I used. Arrange the potatoes on a baking sheet cut side down. Drizzle them with olive oil and sprinkle them with salt. Pop them into the now-preheated oven and roast until golden. This should take about 20 minutes.
Your pastry should be cold by now, so prick it all over with a fork. Line it with parchment paper and fill it with dried beans or lentils. You can use pie weights for this if you have them. And yes, you can still cook the beans and/or lentils after they have fulfilled this purpose. Pop the pastry into the oven with the potatoes and cook for 20 minutes.
Take the pastry and potatoes out of the oven. Set the potatoes aside to cool completely. Remove the lentils and parchment paper from the pastry and brush it all over with an egg wash. Return the pastry to the oven and bake for 10 minutes more or until glossy and golden. Set it aside to cool completely while you prep the filling.
Place anchovy fillets, garlic cloves, a wad of fresh dill, and the juice of half a lemon in a food processor. Blitz until smooth and set it aside. Now for the easy part, crack four eggs into a bowl and add half a cup of cream and half a cup of milk. Add a heaping tablespoon of whole-grain Dijon and whisk everything together. Dice the potatoes you roasted earlier and add them to the bowl with chopped green beans, halved olives, quartered cherry tomatoes, capers, and a drained can of tuna. Pour in the anchovy concoction and fold everything in.
Pour the filling into the waiting pie shell and bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until the edges are set and the center is still a little wobbly. Let cool completely before slicing and serving. I’m not joking about this part. I was impatient and I totally massacred the first slice I pulled from this Nicoise quiche. That’s why I think this quiche is a great make-ahead option if you happen to be having people over for brunch or something. Make it the day before – look like a hero the day of. What could be better?
And that’s everything you need to know about this Nicoise Quiche. It’s briny, savory, buttery, and indulgent. It’s all the adjectives.
Enjoy!
Nicoise Quiche
Equipment
- 1 deep-dish pie plate
- 1 Food Processor
- 1 baking sheet
- Pie weights or dried beans or lentils
Ingredients
Pastry
- 1¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- ⅔ cup unsalted butter cold, cut into cubes
- ¼ cup ice water
- 1 large egg beaten
Nicoise Quiche
- 200g (7oz) fingerling potatoes halved
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 4 fillets anchovies
- ½ cup fresh dill tightly packed
- ½ lemon juiced
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup milk I used 1%
- 1 tbsp whole grain Dijon heaping
- 200g (7oz) green beans cut into one-inch pieces
- 125g (4.5oz) cherry tomatoes quartered
- 5-6 black olives pitted and halved
- 5-6 green olives pitted and halved
- 1 (170g, 6oz) can tuna drained
- 2 tbsp capers drained
Instructions
For the Pastry
- Place flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the butter and rub it into the dry ingredients using your finger or cut it in using a pastry cutter.1¼ cup all-purpose flour, 1 tsp granulated sugar, 1 tsp salt, ⅔ cup unsalted butter
- Once the mixture resembles a coarse meal, pour in the ice water and stir until a shaggy dough forms. Turn it onto the counter and lightly knead it until it comes together. Form it into a ball and press it into a disc. Wrap in parchment paper and chill for 30 minutes.¼ cup ice water
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Roll the pastry out to ¼ inch thickness. Line a deep dish pie plate with the pastry and crimp the edges. ** Chill for another 30 minutes.
- Take the pastry out of the fridge and pierce it all over with a fork. Line it with parchment paper and fill it with pie weights or dried lentils or beans *** Bake the pastry for 20 minutes.
- Remove the pie weights and parchment paper and brush the pastry all over with the beaten egg. Return the pastry to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes. Set the pastry aside to cool.1 large egg
For the Quiche
- Arrange the potatoes cut side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Drizzle the olive oil over top and sprinkle them with salt. Pop the potatoes in the oven alongside the pastry. Roast for 20 minutes or until golden. Let cool completely.200g (7oz) fingerling potatoes, 2 tbsp olive oil
- When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, dice them and set them aside.
- Place the garlic, anchovies, dill, and lemon juice in a food processor. Blitz until smooth. Set aside.2 cloves garlic, 4 fillets anchovies, ½ cup fresh dill, ½ lemon
- Crack the eggs into a large bowl. Add the cream, milk, and mustard and whisk to combine. Fold in the potatoes, green beans, tomatoes, olives, tuna, capers, and the anchovy mixture.4 large eggs, ½ cup heavy cream, ½ cup milk, 1 tbsp whole grain Dijon, 200g (7oz) green beans, 125g (4.5oz) cherry tomatoes, 5-6 black olives, 5-6 green olives, 1 (170g, 6oz) can tuna, 2 tbsp capers
- Pour the filling into the slightly cooled pastry and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the edges are set but the center is still jiggly. Let cool completely before slicing and serving. ****
