Happy Saturday ppl, I have made a scrumptious tart for you to enjoy but before I share the recipe
i feel like I should get you guys to sign a disclaimer, because this is a really rich and dangerously moreish quiche. I can give no guarantee that this will not lead to addiction and a possible food coma, so read on at your own peril. This dish is what I call a sometime food. It’s like a savoury treat.
In short this quiche tastes great, it’s colourful and pretty to look at.
The shortcrust pastry is flaky and tender and melts in your mouth. However, it’s quite rich so you can only really have a sliver, BUT (there is always a but), what I discovered is, it’s remarkable how many slivers one can have….
This scrumptious beautiful quiche is a great way to impress guests (if we ever have a chance to have any again) or the family. It really is a treat and we deserve this savoury delight during lockdown. But be warned, do not make it if there are only two of you and you have no self-control or discipline, (not speaking from experience or anything).
The filling recipe is adapted from Sheerluxe.
Ingredients
1-2 tablespoons oil
1 Spanish onion, sliced
2 cups of fresh spinach leaves
2 large eggs plus, 2 large yolks
Hand full of fresh thyme (leaves only)
1 cup of sweet frozen peas, thawed
1 small to medium-size beetroot baked/boiled or canned, sliced
4 tablespoons pine nuts or your choice of nuts
150mls of thickened cream
80mls crème fraiche
Salt and pepper, according to taste
Pastry Ingredients
2 ¼ cups (340 g) plain flour
Pinch of salt (about ¼ of a teaspoon)
170 g cold unsalted COLD butter diced,
5-6 tbsp (90 ml) ice cold water
Method for pastry
Please see tips below
In a food processor, combine the flour and salt. Add the butter and pulse for a few seconds at a time, until the mixture resembles rough bread crumbs. When adding the water, leave the motor on and while its running add the cold water, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together. (If it comes together at 4 or 5 tablespoons you don’t need to continue adding water. If it hasn’t come together after 6 tablespoons then add more water, but only a teaspoon at a time, until it does).
Remove dough from food processor and form into a disc using your hands. Do it quickly and don’t handle the dough too much. Wrap in a plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 190c, butter (really well) a 23cm loose bottom tart tin.
Roll out the pastry on a sheet of lightly floured baking paper, just enough to cover the tart tin and chill for 10 min
Prick pastry all over with a fork. Cover with baking paper and fill with rice, beans or baking weights. Bake the pastry covered for 5 minutes at 190c. Remove weight or rice paper and return to oven and bake for a further 5 minutes or until the golden in colour. Remove tin from the oven and set aside. Reduce the heat to 180c and begin to prepare the filling.
Method for filling
Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the onion till soft. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
Place the spinach leaves and thyme leaves in the pastry case.
In a bowl, mix the two creams with the eggs, salt and pepper and pour into the pastry shell.
Spoon the peas evenly into the mixture, then gently arrange the beetroot and onions on top.
Sprinkle pine nuts or nuts of your choice and bake for another 30-35 minutes or until the filling is set in the middle. (It shouldn’t jiggle in the middle when ready).
Once the quiche has cooled down, remove it from the tin and serve with salad.
Some tips
You can prepare the dough a day ahead.
I dice the butter at room temp then I keep it in the freezer overnight or for a couple of hours, covered in plastic wrap, before I use it.
Comments