Sunday Brunch: Japanese-inspired spinach and mushroom quiche

I love really good pastry. We make our own at CIBI and use it for sweet tarts and savoury ones like this quiche. This recipe is so good with its combination of buttery pastry, cream and a touch of salty miso. This makes a great brunch dish paired with a simple green leaf salad.

Spinach and Mushroom Quiche

Makes 8 mini quiches

Ingredients
250g sautéed mushrooms
200ml thickened (pouring/whipping) cream
2 eggs
100g Parmesan cheese, grated
100g spinach, blanched
60ml Sweet Miso Sauce (see below)
2 tbsp snipped chives

For the pastry
1 egg yolk
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
280g unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing
420g plain flour, sifted, plus extra for dusting

Make the pastry
In a small bowl, beat together the egg yolk and 75ml water. Add the sugar and salt and stir until combined. Refrigerate until ready to use.

In a large bowl, mash the butter until it is smooth and soft. Add the flour and mix well, until the mixture resembles crumbs.

Pour the egg mix into the flour. Mix well, until the pastry feels like soft skin.

Cover the pastry in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight to allow it to rest.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Grease 8 x 12cm mini fluted tart tins with some butter.

Sprinkle a bit of flour on a large, flat board. Use a rolling pin to flatten the pastry into a sheet 3mm thick. Cut the pastry into 8 pieces. Line each tart tin with one of the pastry pieces. Use a fork to poke some small holes in the surface of the pastry, then chill the tins in the refrigerator for about 1 hour.

Fit some aluminium foil over the pastry and fill each tart tin with pastry weights. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the weights and foil and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Make the filling and assemble the quiches
Sautée the mushrooms.

In a bowl, combine the cream, eggs, cheese and some salt and pepper and mix well.

Sprinkle the mushrooms and spinach into the mini tart tins. Pour the cream mixture over the mushrooms and spinach. Drizzle the sweet miso sauce over the top.

Bake the quiches for 20-25 minutes, until lightly brown.

Garnish with the chives.

Sweet Miso Sauce

Makes 240ml

Ingredients
90g white miso
90ml mirin
60g sugar

Method
In a small bowl, combine the ingredients and mix well.

Extracted from CIBI by Meg and Zenta Tanaka (Hardie Grant, approx €25). Photography © Mark Roper.