Roasted Mediterranean Vegetable & Cheese Quiche

Well, once again it's been an age since I've committed a recipe to the blog but this one was so good, it looked so pretty and was very successfully tasty that I've had lots of requests for the recipe.  So here we are!

I won't go into a long old rigmarole about the quiche, just suffice to say that I was looking to achieve a quiche that had to be tasty, I didn't want it to be too wet (the contents, that is!) and it had to be vegetarian.  For me, this creation ticked all those boxes but be aware that my hubby thought it was a little bit "squishy", so if you've got texture-centric diners it's probably worth subbing some other vegetable in for the courgette, as I suspect that was the culprit.

I managed to avoid most of the "squishiness" by oven roasting the majority of the vegetables, which dried them out nicely.  Take care to cut the sweet potato pieces into very small chunks to avoid it overpowering the contents.  It will spread out better as smaller pieces.

Ready for the oven

Hubby thought that perhaps the addition of some sweet corn would have been nice, so maybe I'll try that in the next version.  :)

As ever, if you try the recipe and have any problems or confusion with it do let me know and I'll do my best to iron those problems out for others!

ROASTED MEDITERRANEAN VEGETABLE & CHEESE QUICHE   (serves 4-8)

Ingredients :

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into small chunks
1 small red onion, peeled and cut into quarters
1 medium courgette, top & tailed, then cut into small chunks
8 button mushrooms, sliced finely
Frylight sunflower oil cooking spray
sea salt & black pepper
300g approx ready rolled shortcrust pastry (or you could make your own)
3 large eggs
1 tsp English mustard powder
100ml double cream
100ml semi skimmed milk
2 pieces of chargrilled red pepper from a jar (rinsed), cut into small pieces
3 sprigs of fresh basil, sliced fine
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
half a tsp dried oregano
30g Gruyere or Gouda cheese, grated finely
30g red Cheddar or red Leicester cheese, grated finely
50g mature Cheddar cheese, grated finely
50g Greek salad cheese (Feta-alike, so if you've got Feta, that would be fine) broken into small pieces
1 medium tomato, sliced
1 tbsp fresh chives, chopped.

Method :

Pre-heat your oven to 180degC/340degF/Gas 4.

Place the sweet potato, onion and courgette pieces onto a large baking tray and spread them out evenly.  Spray well with cooking spray and sprinkle with a little sea salt & black pepper.  Place into the oven to roast for 25-30 minutes or until the sweet potato is tender.  Ideally, the vegetables should have small areas of charring on them in order to get the best flavour.

With 10 minutes to go, sprinkle the vegetables with the sliced mushrooms, give a quick spray with the Frylight and replace into the oven until the rest of the veggies are done.  Remove from the oven and place to one side to cool until required.  Once cool, cut the onion quarters into smaller pieces.

While the veggies are cooking, prepare your pastry case by lining a loose bottomed 8 inch sandwich tin or quiche dish with pastry that has been rolled out thinly, making sure it is pressed into the corners of the tin and without any air bubbles underneath.  Cover the pastry with a layer of baking paper and fill with baking beans.  Once the vegetables are done and removed from the oven, place the pastry case in to part-bake for some 20-25 minutes.  Again, when the time is up, remove and leave to cool until required.

While the pastry is part baking, you can get on with making the filling.  Take a large bowl and break the eggs into it.  Give them a light whisk to break the yolks and combine with the white.  Add the cream, milk, some black pepper and the mustard powder and whisk to combine.

Add the sliced red peppers, basil, parsley, oregano and all the vegetables from the oven which should be fairly cool by now.  Add most of the grated cheeses but reserve a little to sprinkle over the top and give the whole lot a good, but gentle, stir so as not to break anything up.  Add the Greek salad cheese and give everything a light stir, just to combine.

When the filling is ready, take the part baked pastry case and carefully pour the filling in.  Gently encourage the contents to spread evenly across the pastry case to avoid any areas that are just egg mixture.  Sprinkle the surface with the reserved grated cheese and lay the tomato slices in an attractive pattern on the top.  Sprinkle the chives across the surface and give the tomato pieces a tiny sprinkle with black pepper.

Place into the oven to bake for 30-35 minutes. Check the quiche after 25 minutes and turn it if the surface is browning unevenly.  When cooked, the centre of the filling should feel fairly firm to the touch, but have a little spring in it and the whole thing should be a golden colour.

Remove the quiche from the oven and allow to cool for some 15-20 minutes.  In the case of a loose bottomed sandwich tin, gently remove the quiche from the tin and leave on a baking rack to cool completely.

Serve with chips or Jersey Royal new potatoes and salad.

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Tonight's dinner : I cut my finger - does that make me a cook, now?

There is a train of thought in amongst the Shamanic fraternity that it takes a near death experience (preferably with lightning) in order to make a Shaman.  So, I was wondering whether nearly taking the top of your finger off on a mandolin, qualifies you as a Cook with a capital "c"?

I'll go with a "yes", I think.

I was slicing parsnips and squash (beautiful parsnips and squash from thevegibox.com), to make this creamy parsnip & squash bake.  Poor hubby and son & heir came back from walking the dogs, to find me hyperventilating whilst holding my right hand in the air with my little finger swathed in kitchen paper.  Yes, it did leak - copiously.  However, with the addition of a dressing, a plaster and a latex glove, I soldiered on like the brave likkle Cook that I now am.

Now, this 'ere bake very definitely deserves its own recipe post - so watch this space and it shall appear.  It was utterly delicious, incredibly moreish and comfort food to the Nth degree.  Like so many of my favourite recipes, it was so easy to make too!  (Well, not counting the first aid requirement).

I partnered the bake up with some honey & mustard chicken (gorgeous) together with some  steamed young carrots and rainbow chard from thevegibox.com.  This was our first go with chard as a side veggie and combined with the cooking juices from the chicken, it was really good.  It didn't taste how I was expecting it to - it has a definite spinach quality, whereas I was expecting more of a cabbage quality.  Very nice!

The chicken was rolled around in some runny honey that I'd combined with Dijon mustard, a little dried thyme and a pinch of salt and pepper.  It baked up well and provided some lovely juices that stood in well instead of having to make a gravy or jus.

The whole family enjoyed the meal and there were clear plates all round.  Can't ask for more than that!

 

Swiss Eggs - a naughty, but utterly irresistible, lunch

Swiss Eggs.  Aaaah, how just those two little words can carry me back in time to when I was a teenager living with my parents & brother near Epsom.

I can remember some "lunches of note" such as bacon & tomatoes on toast, cold roast chicken & sweetcorn relish sandwiches and cheese on pickle on toast.  However none of them has the sheer power of a food memory that the Swiss Eggs do.

My memory fails me where the first taste of this lunchtime paragon is concerned, but I can well remember grating the cheese and filling the little dishes as my Mum breaks the eggs to go in them.  Then she would add the little splosh of milk and I would do the sprinkling of Worcestershire sauce and pop the little knobs of butter on top.

Into the oven they went, while we toasted and buttered some bread and sat waiting for the oven to work its magic.  As the twenty minutes passed, the smells of hot Worcestershire sauce were replaced by melting, baking cheese.  Oooooh, the anticipation!

I went through all that again today, except in a different order as I was the Mum and son & heir was the progeny I was making them for.  There is something beautifully cyclic about these types of cooking moments - moments that I can only hope that son & heir will carry forward to his family, as and when.

It has to have been some ten years or more since I last had Swiss Eggs.  Hubby is egg sensitive, so I don't make them for him - and it seemed too much to fire up the oven just for me.  Owing to the thermo nuclear temperature that the ramekins achieve, it has taken this long for me to trust son & heir's tender fingertips - and not least, his tongue - with the correct handling of one.

Today was the day - and, almost in celebration, I pushed the boat out a bit and substituted some cream for the milk.  The cheddar was lovely Lake District Cheddar and the eggs free range.  The anticipation was the same, as I sat in the kitchen appreciating the fragrances issuing from the oven, but even that was eclipsed by that first spoonful.

Oh dear god.  Let it not be ten years before I make these again.  They are, truly, divine.

SWISS EGGS  (makes 1)

Ingredients :

Enough grated cheddar to half fill a good sized ramekin
2 fresh eggs
a tablespoonful of cream (milk would do)
four spots of Worcestershire sauce
freshly ground black pepper.

Method :

1.  Pre-heat the oven to 180degC(fan)/350degF/Gas4.

2.  Place half the grated cheese into the bottom of a ramekin.

3.  Crack the two eggs into the ramekin, on top of the cheese.

4.  Cover the eggs with the remaining cheese.

5.  Pour the cream (or milk) over and season with the pepper and four spots of Worcestershire sauce.

6.  Place into the oven for 20 minutes, or until the eggs have risen and the cheese is bubbling.

7.  Serve with buttered toast, in a quiet place, where you can be alone with your lunch - because you're not going to want to share it!

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Fresh Pineapple with Mint sugar : simple but lovely!

Pineapple is one of our favourite fruits where making a dessert is concerned.  That and Lemon!

So, when I saw Jamie Oliver producing a dessert which involved fresh pineapple with fresh mint mixed with sugar sprinkled over it, of course I had to have a go.

Wow!  If you've not tried it, put a pineapple on your shopping list right now.





FRESH PINEAPPLE WITH MINT SUGAR

Ingredients :

A fresh pineapple
A small bunch of fresh mint
2 tbsp granulated sugar
Cream, to serve

Method :

1.  Cut the bristly top and the hoary bottom from your pineapple, then sit it on it's freshly cut bottom and go around it cutting the peel off from top to bottom.  You can generally remove the "eyes" as you go, using this method.  Watch out for pips, too.  (Who'd have thought that pineapples had pips!).

2.  Cut your pineapple in half from top to bottom and each piece in half, until you've got four wedges.

3.  Take each wedge and cut off the woody centre section and discard (but don't forget to have a nibble on them before you chuck them away - cook's perks, and all that!).  Then cut each wedge into bite-sized sections.

4.  Remove the mint leaves from the stalks and discard the stalks.  Chop the leaves finely, then add to the sugar and toss to infuse with the mint.

5.  Sprinkle the minty sugar over the pineapple, then cover and leave to chill in the fridge.

6.  Serve with fresh cream.

Birthday Tea item no. 3 : Quiche Lorraine

Quiche Lorraine, prior to having its crust trimmed.

As I had already got a fish-based tart (innuendo alert!) in mind, I was thinking along the bacon lines for my second tart before the word "Lorraine" (we're back to the tart again) came into my mind.

Now I'd made Quiches before and had become something of a dab hand at the supposedly "Impossible" quiche, so when the phrase "Quiche Lorraine" hoved into view, I immediately felt quite confident.  Which didn't last long, as I recalled that I'd always shied away from making that one because I understood it to be "complicated" or "tricky".

Ha!  Well, so much for that.  After a bit of self-education care of the internet (i.e. I looked up "Quiche Lorraine" and realised it was nothing short of a doddle), I got cracking.  Ha ha!  See what I did there?  "Cracking" .... *sigh* .... oh alright then, before I get my coat, I'll tell you the recipe I used.

QUICHE LORRAINE (feeds 6 for a buffet or 4 if you're hungry!)

Ingredients :

1 x 8" shortcrust pastry case, part-baked
3 eggs
a pack of streaky bacon
50ml of double cream
salt and pepper to taste
mature cheddar cheese, to add to the filling and some to sprinkle on top
a teaspoon of Dijon mustard.

Method :

1.  Pre-heat the oven to 180 deg C (fan).

2.  Dice the streaky bacon and fry it on a medium/high heat until it starts to brown, then put aside to cool slightly.

3.  Grate the amount of cheese you want to use.  We used a goodly amount, probably around 2-3 handfuls, as we're all deeply committed cheesehounds.

4.  Crack the three eggs into a bowl, add the cream and mustard and whisk together.

5.  Add the cooled bacon, grated cheese and some seasoning and mix together until combined.

6.  Decant into the pastry case, leaving the final filling until the pastry case is in the oven - this prevents spillage en route to the oven.

7.  Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and add a grind or two of pepper if you like.

8.  Bake for some 30 minutes or longer.  When the filling appears solid to the touch, it's done.

Serve as part of a buffet, or with a jacket potato or potato salad and a leafy green salad.

One-pot Chicken & Bacon Stew

Photo c/o BBC Good Food
Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of mine!

I discovered this recipe on the BBC's Good Food website, which can be found here.

Having had some singular disasters with the tomato/chilli combinations, I had moved over to the gentler side of life and was open to offers along the chicken/mushroom/wine/cream lines.

BBC's Good Food website is always a great port of call for me, largely because it's recipes are always sensible - they rarely offer "Lark's Tongues in Aspic", for instance.  Another boon of their website is the comments box, where folk comment, having made the dish.  You can glean some interesting tips from cooks who have attempted the dish before you and want to pass on their recommendations.

This recipe had three plus points, for me.

1.  It was a one-pot dish.  That always wins in my book, as being disabled, juggling loads of pots and pans isn't easy - and anyway, someone has to wash them up at the end of the process.  It usually isn't me, but I don't like to leave a mountain of dishes for lovely hubby to do.

2.  It involved the use of white wine.  I'd got 100ml or so of white wine sitting in the fridge, getting in the way.  I always try to use leftovers where possible, so this definitely counted.

3.  It involved the use of both cream and mushrooms.  Our son doesn't like the texture of mushrooms, but he's become quite adept at hooking them out of meals, fortunately.  As for the cream, well, everything tastes gorgeous with some cream added, doesn't it?

So, here's the recipe, incorporating my alterations :

ONE-POT CHICKEN & BACON STEW (serves 3-4)

Ingredients :

knob of butter

1 tbsp olive oil

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

100g smoked bacon, cut into small pieces
2 carrots, sliced

1 onion, roughly chopped

1 tbsp plain flour

half a tbsp of tomato puree

100ml white wine

400ml chicken stock

1-2 bay leaves, depending on size

2 tbsp double cream or creme fraiche

1 medium potato, in half-inch cubes

6-8 white mushrooms, quartered

chopped herbs such as parsley, chives or tarragon (I used parsley & chives)

fresh ground black pepper.

Method :

1.  Heat oven to 200c/180c fan/gas 6.

2.  Heat oil and melt the butter in large flameproof casserole with a lid, or use a deep frying pan and decant into a casserole dish as you go.  Fry the chicken (in batches if necessary), with some freshly ground black pepper for 5 mins on each side until well browned, then remove to plate and keep warm.

3.  Sizzle the bacon until beginning to crisp.  Stir in the carrots and onions and cook for 5 mins or until starting to soften.

4.  Stir in the flour and tomato puree, and cook for 1 min more.

5.  Add the stock and wine, mixing well to combine and bring to a simmer.  Allow to simmer until the sauce has thickened, then add the bay, cream and more black pepper.  You shouldn't need salt, owing to the butter and the stock already containing salt, but add salt to taste if you need to.

6.  Add the potatoes and mushrooms and stir to ensure they are well coated in the sauce, then add the chicken and any juices and do the same.  Put the lid on and place into the oven for 40-50 minutes.

Just before serving, stir in the chopped herbs.

I served the stew with some broccoli florets alongside and everyone cleared their plates.  Success!

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