Venison, Onion and Kale Quiche
I love quiche, it is so fun to play with different ingredients and flavours. It can be completely seasonal working with whatever you have on hand and this Venison, Onion and Kale Quiche is no exception. I was feeling so excited and inspired for Ostara this year, especially since I have the ability to cook with my own venison. I am incredibly blessed to have a friend that does butchery that offered to turn our venison scraps into some sausage and it is phenomenal. This quiche turned out so savory, sweet and deep, I enjoyed every bite, and hope you do too. I did make my pie crust from scratch, but no judgements if you use a store bought, everything works!
Modifiers and substitutions will be at the bottom like always for anyone that needs to make adjustments. Possibilities include: Dairy-free, meat-free
Venison, Onion and Kale Quiche
This savory, sweet and satisfying quiche can be enjoyed hot or cold, filled with hearty venison, succulent sautéed onions and creamy, cheesy, egg. Homemade pie crust is optional, store bought will work just fine.
Pie Crust – Makes one 9" crust
- 1 ⅓ cup All Purpose Flour
- ½ tsp Salt
- ½ cup Shortening
- 3 tbsp Cold Water
Quiche Filling
- 300 grams Venison Sausage
- 1 tbsp Oil
- 1 medium Onion (Halved and sliced)
- 2 tbsp Butter
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 2 tbsp Grain Liquor, I prefer Scotch or Whiskey (Brandy, Bourbon, etc )
- ½ tsp Sage
- ¼ tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 cup Chopped Kale
- ¼ cup Water
- 4 Eggs
- ½ cup Milk
- ½ cup Heavy Cream
- 1 cup Grated Cheddar Cheese
Pie Crust
In a medium bowl or food processor, cut the shortening into the dry ingredients until you have loose crumbles
Slowly incorporate the water, adding a little at a time. You can add a bit more if it still seems dry, it should just stick together.
Turnout the dough onto a piece of stretch wrap and wrap tightly. Set in the fridge to chill while you work on the filling.
Sausage and Onion Mixture
Either chop the sausage into very small pieces ½" – ¾" or remove the sausage from the casing completely.
In a large skillet on medium heat add the oil and venison, cook till brown stirring occasionally to break up any large clumps into small even pieces.
Once fully cooked remove from pan and set aside in a dish
To the same skillet add the butter and let melt completely. Once melted add the sliced onions, season with salt and stir occasionally till the onions are translucent and beginning to brown.
Add in the splash of alcohol, I prefer Laphroaig scotch, it is incredibly smoky and adds so much depth to onions. Season with sage and garlic and stir, letting cook for another minute or two.
Add in the chopped kale and let the mixture cook down and fully incorporate. The kale should be soft and tender. Add the water to help deglaze the pan and unstick and delicious flavoured bits.
Turn off the element, remove from heat and let the onion mixture sit.
Pie Crust
Preheat the oven to [wprm-temperature value=”375″ unit=”F”]
On a floured surface roll out the pie dough to ¼" thickness. Using the rolling pin start at one edge and roll the crust up and over so as you roll the rolling backwards the crust rolls onto the pin. This will make it much easier to lift and fit into the pie tin
Set the pie tin in place and unroll the crust over the tin, press gently into the bottom and up the sides. Trim the edges with a knife. If a spot happens to tear you can use a little bit of water and some cut off scraps to patch the crust.
Set a piece of parchment paper into the crust and fill with beans or rice to keep the centre of the crust from rising. Bake for 15-16 minutes.
Quiche Filling
In a large bowl combine the eggs, milk, and heavy cream, whisk thoroughly.
Add in the cooked venison and onion mixture and mix.
Gently mix in the grated cheese, you don't want the cheese to break apart to small.
Take the pre-baked pie crust and cover the edges with a pie crust shield or wrap with aluminum foil to prevent the edges from overcooking or burning.
Fill the crust with the filling and bake at [wprm-temperature value=”350″ unit=”F”] for 45-55 minutes. Once the centre is set and top is brown it is done.
Let it set and cool for 15 minutes, then slice and enjoy.
Ry doesn’t like quiche, so he didn’t rate this one. But I can tell you it is so freaking good, the sausage has a deep savory flavour paired with the sweet, smoky almost caramelized onions and that buttery crust.
Store in the fridge for up to 4 days, it was my lunch at work for a week no issues.
Modifiers and Substitutions
Dairy-Free: Swap out the butter, milk and cheese for a plant based option, and the heavy cream can be anything from plant based cream, sour cream, or yogurt.
Meat: No surprise here, but it doesn’t have to be venison sausage. You can use any sausage you have on hand or prefer, including plant-based sausage. Depending on the type of sausage you are using you want to play with the spice and seasoning that you add, I lucked out with incredibly well made sausage and I didn’t have to add a lot.
Cauldron Corner
- Dairy: Positivity, joy, health, accomplishments, higher energies, inspiration
- Egg: Fertility, rejuvenation, mysteries, creation, knowledge, sacredness, wholeness, spirituality
- Garlic: Strengths, courage, endurance, protection, health, inspiration, male fertility
- Kale: Healing, strength, money
- Olive Oil: Luck, protection, peace, harmony, fertility
- Onion: Promises, oaths, protection, banishing, warding, spirituality, energy, psychic powers, male fertility
- Sage: Protection, mental ability, concentration, ease grief, purification, wisdom
- Salt: Protection, purification, barrier, shield
- Venison: Abundance, good luck, serenity, grace, forgivenes, kindness
- Wheat: Conception, rebirth, fertility, abundance, prosperity, Goddess
Sabbaths
I made this Venison, Onion and Kale Quiche for Ostara in particular, quiche is a natural fit for Ostara. There are correspondences with eggs, sage, lamb (I used venison) and all the above ingredients lend themselves to Ostara particularly in 2023. This year coincides with a New Moon; which is aligned with new beginnings, healing, rebirth, and fresh starts.