Pechluck's Food Adventures

Really, this recipe for a Sheet Pan Smoked Salmon and Dill Quiche I made for a White Elephant Party Potluck is an accumulation of three recipes and a lot of cheating. I was inspired to make a sheet pan quiche in the first place from Smitten Kitchen’s Mushroom and Spinach Sheet Pan Quiche, but then mashed up the idea from Saveur of Salmon and Dill Quiche, and added in the dill sauce from a recipe on Food 52 for Salmon with Dill Slather.

It’s a simple quiche made for a lot of people, but the use of smoked salmon and dill and a side sauce still makes it fancy, at least I think! Sheet pan quiche is so practical for a group while being pretty low effort in the kitchen and can be served warm or room temperature.
 

I found recipes that included making the dough from scratch – but I just didn’t feel like putting that much work into it. I also wanted something lighter then pie dough, and so I chose instead to use frozen puff pastry sheets so if people at the party wanted to hold it to eat, they could. They could choose to eat it plain, or add in the dill sauce for a little richness.

Ingredients:

• For the Sheet Pan Quiche
  • 12 eggs
  • 4 cups half and half
  • A few pinches freshly grated nutmeg
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 8 ounces smoked salmon, cut into small pieces – add more salmon if you want more fish per bite but I didn’t want it too fishy for the party
  • 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh dill
  • 1 tablespoon melted butter
  • Olive Oil or other cooking spray
  • 1 Package Frozen Puff Pastry Sheets, defrosted
• For the Dill Sauce
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 3/4 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh dill

Directions:

1. First, let me emphasize this – puff pastry sheets dry out very quickly. You will want to already have made the quiche filling and have it ready before you start rolling out the sheets. However, you do need the sheets to be softened, so defrost it from the freezer in preparation the night before.
2. Combine the 1 cup of sour cream and 3/4 cup of Greek yogurt in a bowl. Add in the 1/4 cup of chopped dill, along with a good pinch of sea salt and some cracked black pepper. Mix well and then chill in the refrigerator for a few hours.
3. Beat the 12 eggs, 4 cups half and half, pinches freshly grated nutmeg, salt and freshly ground black pepper until well blended in a mixing bowl.
4. Spray an 18″ x 26″ sheet pan with the olive oil. Unwrap the puff pastry sheet and lay out on the pan, spraying between layers. You will have to layer the sheets slightly on top of each other to get them fully across the length of the pan, and need a few on each half to make it thick enough. I left a little bit of an edge along the four sides that was maybe 1/2 inch, and I brushed these with the 1 tablespoon of melted butter.
5. Pour in the egg and half and half mixture. Sprinkle in the small pieces of smoked salmon and liberally scatter all over with the 1/4 cup of chopped fresh dill.
6. Bake at 375 F for about 20 minutes or until you see the quiche set.
7. Let cool before you but it into the size squares you want to serve at the party. Serve with a dollop of optional dill sauce.

The dill sauce is also pretty much good for everything – people were dipping in veggies into it too! The recipe for the dill sauce comes from something I saw that could be served with a salmon dish – so you could also just make it for dinner with your fish. As in all quiches, this tastes great room temperature or warmed up.

What’s your favorite dish to bring to a potluck party?