Saturdays are wonderful. The week’s over, everyone’s together, and because there’s the whole of Sunday left for lolling about relaxing together then I always feel like it’s a perfect day for getting all of the little jobs done that you wouldn’t do during the week. It’s also a perfect day for an easily prepared dinner, or perhaps even one that you’ve got stashed away in the fridge waiting to be reheated. In other words, Saturday is the perfect day for quiche.
I love quiche. It’s one of my main go-to meals because it’s easy, delicious, healthy, and affords the versatility of being able to throw into it whatever you’ve got, or pre-plan your favourite combination.
So today, as it’s a quiche appropriate Saturday, I decided to share five tips to making great quiche:
- Blind bake your crust– Because a quiche is filled with sloppy eggs and milk and things, blind baking the crust is a good way to ensure that it is cooked and crispy so that you can avoid the dread soggy bottom. Blind baking simply means to bake the crust on its own before adding any filling. When making quiche, especially if I’m using flour with little or no gluten in the crust, I like to blind bake it and then brush it with egg white. This seals it a bit more and helps to avoid cracks.
- Try out different pastry– Classically quiche is made with shortcrust pastry made from white flour and butter, but for a healthier version try using different whole grain flours mixed with a bit of oil and water. This can lead to a myriad of flavour and texture variations which I think can really enhance the finished quiche and make it more interesting. Try adding some herbs or spices to the crust for even more adventure.
- Pre-cook your veggies– To ensure that your veg is cooked through and you’re not chomping on bits of raw roughage in your creamy quiche, cook it at least a bit first. Sautee green veggies and onions or leeks, and try parboiling root veg before adding them.
- Leave your cheese in big chunks– When adding cheese to quiche, and most other recipes where it’s cooked in with other ingredients, leave it in bigger chunks. If you grate it you’ll get a bit of a cheesy flavour but it will mostly disappear, whereas if you leave chunks of it you’ll get the wonderful gooeyness that any self-respecting cheese lover would be after.
- Add some milk– You can make a nice quiche with just eggs, but to get a lighter texture add some milk, weather it be cow’s milk, nut milk, buttermilk, or any other that you choose. Not only does it add lovely creaminess to the quiche, but also the evaporation that occurs in the liquid will give you a lighter texture in your eggs. This is actually a wonderful tip for making omelette too. Next time you make one try adding a drop of water to your egg mixture and notice the difference it makes to the omelette’s texture.
So there you have it, everything you need to make great quiche. And now to get you started here’s a recipe for a delicious buttermilk asparagus quiche, a classic combination of asparagus, leek and goats cheese with the added twist of buttermilk which pairs nicely with the slightly tangy goats cheese. So happy quiche day, and happy weekend!
Buttermilk asparagus quiche
2015-09-26 11:26:45
A creamy healthy buttermilk asparagus quiche made with a gluten-free oat and brown rice crust, and filled with the classic combination of asparagus, leek and goats cheese with a tangy twist of buttermilk.
For the pastry
- 100g gluten free oats, ground into flour (or regular if you prefer)
- 100g brown rice flour
- 1/2 tsp salt flakes
- 2 Tbsp coconut oil (or oil of your choice)
- 80 mL water
For the filling
- 2tsp oil
- 250g asparagus, tough bits trimmed, sliced on the diagonal
- 2 small leeks, washed and dark green parts trimmed, halved and sliced
- 4 eggs
- 280 mL buttermilk
- 65g soft goats cheese
- 1/8tsp ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and lightly grease a loose bottomed 22cm, straight sided cake tin. (Using a deeper, straight sided tin gives you a lovely rustic looking tart, but you can use a tart tin or pie plate if you prefer a more classic shape.)
- To make the pastry combine the flours with the salt in a large bowl and mix well. Pour in the oil and water and knead it until it comes together into a stiff dough that sticks together quite well but is still a bit crumbly. Add a drop more water if you need to.
- This dough will not roll out so instead crumble it into your prepared tin and press it evenly into it and up the sides until the tin is evenly lined with a thin layer of pastry. Be especially attentive at the corners as you don’t want a thick mass of pastry in the bend. Trim off the excess dough around the top with a sharp knife to give a neat edge. Place the pastry in the pre-heated oven and bake for 10 minutes. While it’s baking take one of the eggs and separate the egg white and beat it lightly with a pinch of salt. Set the yolk aside to use later.
- After 10 minutes remove the pie crust from the oven and immediately brush it generously with the egg white. Set aside, and add the remaining egg white back in with the reserved yolk.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the prepared veggies and sautee for 5-8 minutes, until they’re starting to soften and the asparagus is bright green.
- While the veg is cooking combine the eggs, including the separated one, buttermilk and nutmeg in a large bowl. Season well and whisk until smooth and creamy.
- Crumble half of the cheese in large lumps over the bottom of the pie crust, then arrange the veggies on top, followed by the second half of the cheese. Try and make sure everything is evenly distributed.
- Pour over the egg mixture making sure it’s evenly covering all of the filling.
- Place the quiche into the oven and leave to bake for around an hour. You want the crust to be golden and the quiche set but still with a bit of a wobble in the middle. Once cooked, remove from the oven and let it sit for about 15 minutes before gently sliding it from the tin. Serve warm or allow to cool completely and then refrigerate for another time.
Roots & Wren https://rootsandwren.com/