salmon quiche la poodle*

I am vainly chasing the salmon quiche of my childhood. My mother used to make it, but it’s been a LONG time, and she can’t remember the recipe anymore.

I’ve been searching the internet; nothing even sounds close. The quiche I remember didn’t seem remotely egg-y or cheese-y. It was bright pink, dense with canned salmon, slightly tart, made in a ready-bake crust, and topped with Durkee French fried onions (which appears to now be sold under the French’s brand).

I sent different recipes I found to my mother. Does this one or that one sound right? — She gave the high sign to one that used evaporated milk.

This week, my local grocery store was having a sale on canned wild-caught salmon. I picked up a couple of cans, and a can of said evap-milk. I already had a crust in the freezer (organic flour, super flaky) from another quiche craving (spinach and cheese) I’d had to act on (act out on?) earlier in the week.

Since I’d bought enough salmon and canned milk to make two pies, and since Scott doesn’t eat flour, I doubled the recipe and made one with crust, and one carb-free. Because I can never leave well enough alone, I substituted Heini’s Yogurt Cheese for the cheddar. Because I was too lazy to chop onions, I left that ingredient out entirely. Because I don’t have anything called “seasoned salt” in my pantry, I used a combination of salt and paprika. Subbed basil for the dried parsley for the same reason.

Considered skipping the separate, whip, and fold steps, and just putting the eggs in whole, but in the end decided to go for it. I don’t take my electric mixer out very often, and I’ve seen Amy Sedaris survive folding egg whites in front of Martha Stewart, so I had faith I could make a decent stab at it.

Served the whole caboodle with lemon wedges because it ended up a little under-tart.

And, sadly, I didn’t read the part in the recipe about turning the oven down, so the top browned more than it should have. Still tasted good though. Scott pronounced it “like a gourmet tuna casserole… in a good way.”

Good, but not like that pie from long ago. Sigh.

Here’s the unadulterated recipe:

Pet Salmon Quiche

1 Pet-Ritz® Regular Pie Crust Shell
1 (8 oz.) can salmon, drained
1 sm. can Pet® Evaporated Milk
1 C. (4 oz.) Cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 C. chopped finely onion
2 eggs, separated
1 Tbsp. dried parsley flakes
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. seasoned salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Preheat oven and baking sheet to 450 degrees F.

Partially bake pie shell, about 6 min. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F.

Remove the bone and skin from salmon. Flake salmon and mix with evaporated milk, cheese, onion, egg yolk, parsley, lemon juice and seasoning.

Beat egg whites until stiff. Fold egg whites into salmon mixture. Spoon into partially baked pie shell. Bake on preheated baking sheet, until filling puffs and is golden brown, about 30 to 35 min. Cool 10 min. before serving.

Pictures are of dinner aftermath — we ate before I thought to take out the camera.

*Because I heart the B-52s. (No poodles were harmed in the making of this post, or this quiche.)

**Note: Dad found the recipe! See the real salmon quiche by clicking on this sentence.