Mackerel is healthy to eat because of the omega-3 fatty acids it contains. After discovering by accident that sauerkraut and smoked mackerel go really well together, I decided to try making a mackerel & sauerkraut quiche. And guess what? It was really good, so I’ve been making it more often since. Apart from the baking time it doesn’t take much time to make it at all, as little as 5 minutes if you use a store-bought pie crust for the quiche. I’ve found that it’s not easy to make a better pie crust yourself than what you can buy in the supermarket. To cut down on the fat, I tried to make the pie crust with ricotta instead of butter. That turned out quite well. This quiche is even better if you hot-smoke the mackerel yourself, but it’s not needed for a good result.

Ingredients

For 2-3 persons as a main course or 6-8 as an appetizer

450 grams (1 pound) sauerkraut, pre-cooked

250 grams (9 oz) smoked mackerel fillets

salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 large eggs

150 ml (2/3 cup) milk

1 tbsp butter

pie crust for a 24 cm (9 inch) springform pan

To make the pie crust yourself

200 grams flour

100 grams butter or 150 grams ricotta

about 2 tbsp cold dry white wine

pinch of salt

Preparation

Put the sauerkraut (that must be pre-cooked) in a sieve or colander to drain.

Preheat the oven to 200-225C/390-435F.

To make the pie crust, mix the flour with the ricotta or the butter (cut into cubes) in a food processor until you obtain crumbs.

Add around 2 tbsp of cold dry white wine (or cold water) and process to obtain a dough that sticks together.

Roll out the dough to a circle with a diameter of 30 cm / 12 inches.

Butter the springform pan. Line the springform pan with the dough. If using a store-bought pie crust, you can arrive at this step very quickly 😉

Arrange half of the sauerkraut loosely on the pie crust.

Break up the smoked mackerel and spread it out on the sauerkraut. Season liberally with freshly grounded black pepper. Taste the mackerel (if it is store-bought it can be quite salty) to see if you need to season with salt as well.

Cover with the remaining sauerkraut.

Put the milk and the eggs in a bowl. Season with a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper.

Beat until mixed.

Pour the egg mixture into the quiche. Shake gently to mix. Press down on the sauerkraut a bit to submerge it evenly.

Bake the quiche for 30-45 minutes until golden. To make sure the bottom crust doesn’t become soggy, use heat from below and put the quiche near the bottom of the oven.

Remove the springform and let the quiche cool slightly before serving. Can be eaten warm or at room temperature and can be kept in the fridge for a few days.

Wine pairing

This quiche is excellent with a well-rounded riesling such as this dry estate Riesling from Sybille Kuntz. The acidity of the riesling goes well with the sauerkraut and the roundness goes well with the mackerel.