During the months I spent in almost complete solitude in Strasbourg when doing my graduate thesis, I had colossal meals. When I feel lonely or stressed, I have a certainty: I eat a lot.
One of the dishes that I liked most in my stay there was the quiche: rich, tasty, easily transportable to the university hostel room, and relatively cheap. In France they stuff it with different fillings so I used to have to decide which one to choose among the different varieties displayed in the boulangerie.
They’re prepared as a delicious appetizer or as a packed lunch or for brunch.
With these fall ingredients, the quiche becomes the perfect snack for a picnic in the woods among foliage.

Quiche with pumpkin and gorgonzola cheese

  • Preparation time: 90 minutes
  • Ingredients for a 24 cm pan
  • Difficulty: Average difficult recipe

  • Ingredients
  • For the short crust pastry:
  • 4 ½ oz (125 grams) of all-purpose flour
  • 3 oz (80 grams) of cold butter
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 tablespoons (35 grams) of ice water
  • For the stuffing:
  • 7 oz (200 grams) of pumpkin
  • ¾ oz (20 grams) of baby spinach
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 oz (100 grams) of milk cream
  • 2 oz (50 grams) of grated parmesan
  • 4 oz (100 grams) of gorgonzola cheese
  • Nutmeg to taste
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  1. Instructions
  2. In a food processor, add the flour, cold butter (cut into cubes), and the salt. Operate the pulse a couple of times until the butter is as big as a hazelnut and therefore completely sandblasted. Add the ice water and work the dough very little with a few more pulses until the dough is formed. Gently work the dough into a ball, wrap it in cling film, and chill for 30 minutes.
  3. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  4. To prepare the filling: clean the pumpkin, cut it into regular thin wedges, and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Season with oil and cook in the oven for about twenty minutes. Allow to cool and cut thinly.
  5. Wash the baby spinach well. Put them in a large pan with very little oil and cook for about four minutes. Leave to cool.
  6. In a bowl, whip the eggs with the cream. Season with salt and pepper and add plenty of nutmeg and parmesan cheese.
  7. Roll out the short crust pastry to a thickness of about 3 mm. Put it in the pan covered with parchment paper. Prick the bottom with the tines of a fork.
  8. Proceed with the blind baking of pastry for about ten to fifteen minutes.
  9. Remove from the oven and fill the quiche with the pumpkin, spinach, gorgonzola flakes, and the egg and cream mixture.
  10. Bake for another thirty-to-thirty-five minutes.

Tips to ensure the success of the dish:

  •  The blind baking should be done with a sheet of parchment paper placed on top and weight (so as to ensure it does not swell) created with ceramic balls or dried beans.
  • The timing of cooking in the oven depends a lot on the oven you have.