Saturday, February 11, 2006
Vegetable and Salmon Quiche
We had a very nice day yesterday. Cold and crisp, but sunny most of the time. It's good to see a bit of sunshine for a change. And with the first crocus coming out and the trees beginning to bloom it is decidedly looking like springtime out there. I decided to complement this overall atmosphere with a springtime sort of dinner. One of our favourite warm weather dishes used to be vegetable quiche, which, to keep it light, was made with puff pastry rather than short crust pastry, served with buttered new potatoes and a side salad. This was much easier to make in Prague, though, because our local supermarket sold these great rolled-up sheets of fresh puff pastry. There was no need to defrost or to try to stick these useless little squar
es you get when you buy frozen pastry together in a dish. It was an easy dinner and almost foolproof. Unfortunately, I've been unable to find fresh pastry here in Dublin (but I'm always open for suggestions), so I have reverted back to making quiche with homemade short crust pastry. This takes longer and the result is heavier, but in temperatures like these it is probably just as good. Whatever you do, make sure you don't combine a pastry shell with big holes or gaps in it with a leaky cake tin. The egg mixture would drain out of the quiche and you'd end up with grilled vegetables in a pastry shell and a burnt mess on the bottom of the oven.For a full-sized quiche, which is enough to feed four to six people, you will need
For the pastry:
175 g flour, plus extra for dusting if you are using anything but a silicon cake pan
a pinch of salt
75 g butter at room temperature (but no warmer and make sure it is not too soft), plus extra for greasing
(alternatively use ready made pastry)
For the filling:
lots of vegetables, chopped into bite-size pieces (As per usual with my recipes, you can use anything you like and have available. This time, we had spinach, onion, corn, peas, mushrooms and sliced tomatoes.)
3 to 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
a few spoonfuls of olive oil for frying the vegetables
1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped (or ½ tsp dried)
2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped (or 1 tsp dried)
1 ½ tsp fresh oregano, chopped (or 1 tsp dried)
2 tbsp fresh chives, chopped
a pinch of ground nutmeg
a vegetable oxo cube (alternatively enough vegetable stock granules or crumbly stock cube for 200 ml fluid)
300 to 400 g smoked salmon
3 eggs
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup grated parmesan or old gouda (or any other dry, hard cheese)
200 g ground soft cheese (such as hard mozzarella, Gouda or Swiss cheese) or one large ball of soft mozzarella, sliced
salt and pepper to taste
baking paper and pulses or weights for blind baking
To make the pastry, sift the flour together with a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Rub in the butter until the result resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Make sure to work quickly, so the butter does not heat up too much. Add enough cold water to make the mixture come together to form a firm dough. Shape into a ball, cover and rest it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Roll out the pastry on a light floured surface and line a 22 cm well-buttered ovenproof dish. Don't trim the edges of the pastry yet. Chill again.
Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius.
When the oven is hot, remove the pastry from the fridge, line the inside with baking paper and then fill it with pulses or weights. Place on a baking tray and bake blind for 20 minutes. Remove the beans and paper and return to the oven for another five minutes to cook the base. Reduce the temperature of the oven to 160 Celsius.
In the meantime pre-cook the vegetables. The main reason for this is to evaporate the water from them to prevent the quiche from going mushy, but harder vegetables, such as broccoli and carrots, need this cooking time to go soft as well. Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the onions (and/or leeks) and sweat lightly for a few minutes. When they are beginning to soften, add the garlic, herbs and mushrooms. When they are starting to release their moisture, add any hard vegetables. After a few minutes it is time to add any leaves and when they begin to collapse, add the softer vegetables that will not release too much moisture (such as sugar snaps, bean sprouts or corn). Finally, add the nutmeg and crumbled oxo cube and stir well to mix. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Sprinkle the parmesan into the pastry base and add the sliced tomatoes, if you are using them. Evenly distribute the cooked vegetables over the top. In a bowl, combine the eggs with the cream. Pour over the vegetables. Top with a layer of smoked salmon and trim the edges of the pastry. Cover with grated cheese or sliced mozzarella.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the egg mixture is set and the cheese is browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool and set further. Serve with boiled potatoes and/or salad or baked beans.
Christine at 10:12 pm
