Spring 3

Spring Quiches

 

SPRING QUICHES

Spring is a great time to make quiches.  They use lots of eggs, plentiful at this time of year, and there is nothing better than young tender spring vegetables to add flavour.  You can use anything you like for a filling and with a salad they make a satisfying meal.  A quiche consists of three components:  a shortcrust pastry base, an egg custard; and a filling.

 

1.  Make the shortcrust pastry

The most basic shortcrust pastry consists of plain flour mixed to breadcrumb consistency by the addition of half its quantity by weight of butter and then just enough water to bring everything together to form a dough.  You can add an egg yolk or two or more butter for extra richness.

 

A mixture of 250g plain flour (2cups), 125g of butter, 1 or 2 egg yolks, and 3-4 tablespoons of water should give you enough pastry to line a large quiche or deep flan tin.  185g (1 ½ cups) of plain flour, 90g butter , 1 egg yolk and 2-3 tablespoons of water should give you enough to line a 25 cm tin.

 

The easiest way to make the pastry is in a food processor and the secret of good shortcrust pastry is to keep all the ingredients and utensils cool; to handle the dough as little as possible; and to rest the dough between steps.

 

Put the flour in the food processor and give it a few pulses to aerate it.  You can add some nuts at this stage to add flavour to the pastry.  You can also add spices such as paprika or mustard, or seeds such as crushed peppercorns, sesame seeds, fennel seeds.  Experiment to see what combination you like best.  Add the cold and chopped up butter and pulse the mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs.

 

Add the egg yolk if using and pulse to mix.  You can also add chopped herbs or grated cheese for flavour.  Add cold water a little at a time and pulse between each addition.  The dryness of ingredients varies so you may need to add more or less water than the recipe states.  Keep adding water until the ingredients come together to form a dough. 

 

Stop once everything comes together as overworking will make the dough tough.  At the same time you do not want the dough too crumbly as it will be very difficult to roll out.  You can squeeze a little dough between your fingers to test it.  It should hold its shape and not crumble.  Gather the dough up and wrap it in cling film and put in the refrigerator to rest for 30 minutes.

Then roll the dough out, it is easier to manipulate the dough if you do this between two sheets of baking paper.  If the dough is too crumbly to roll without breaking up knead it gently until it holds its shape.  Put the pastry into a buttered quiche or flan dish and refrigerate for 20 minutes. 

 

To stop the bottom of the pastry being soggy, prick the base of the pastry all over with a fork and place in a moderate oven (180C) for 15 minutes or until lightly golden.  Remove from the oven and let it cool down before adding the egg custard and filling.  Cook in a moderate oven until the custard in the centre of the quiche is set.  You will need to check from time to time.  If you are using a deep flan dish it is a good idea to turn the oven down a little so the custard cooks more slowly and the custard near the edge doesn’t overcook whilst the middle is still wet.

 

2. Make the egg custard

For a large quiche you will need two cups (500ml) of liquid.  For a smaller quiche or one that has a lot of filling, one cup should be sufficient.  A good mix is half milk to half cream beaten with two or three whole eggs – depending on the quantity you are making.  You can add chopped herbs (washed and patted dry) eg. chives, parsley, dill, grated lemon rind, and grated cheese eg Swiss, Gruyere, Parmesan, Cheddar, cream cheese, to the mixture as wells as any spices eg. nutmeg,  you would like to add flavour.  You can vary the proportions of the basic mixture.  You can use sour cream instead of cream, or canned or UHT cream.

 

3.  Make the filling

While you are waiting for the pastry to rest you can prepare the filling for the quiche.  Just about anything can be added to a quiche include pantry items such as marinated artichokes, sundried tomatoes, roasted capsicum strips, roasted vegetables, roasted chicken, nuts, and of course blanched or sautéed vegetables straight from garden.  Basic flavourings such as onions, leeks, mushrooms, bacon and prosciutto should be sautéed before adding to the filling. You can add flavourings such as a little lemon juice or French mustard but if the filling is too wet you may need to add another egg.  Sprinkle a little grated cheese over the top of the quiche before cooking to add flavour.

 

Some good combinations are:

·        Roasted vegetables, blue cheese, garlic, spinach and pine nuts;

·        Sliced zucchinis, prosciutto, roasted capsicum strips;

·        Smoked salmon, frozen peas, capers, sliced onions, dill, French mustard;

·        Mushrooms, bacon, onions, parsley, garlic, nutmeg;

·        Prawns, crab, oysters, scallops, dill, lemon, spring onions, parsley, camembert;

·        Potatoes, leeks, spinach, ham;

·        Artichokes, eggplant slices, semidried tomatoes, black olives, Italian herbs, fetta;

·        Asparagus, ham or salmon, cream cheese, anchovies;

·        Onions, bacon, cheddar, fresh herbs.