Really Good Quiche...Really.

 

Hellooooo, I feel a bit funny about posting a quiche recipe, because no one, since 1987, has actually enjoyed quiche have they? At least that's what I thought, but turns our that our Dad is rather a fan. Well really I think he's a pastry fan more than anything- well duuuh, it's butter and flour, who's not a fan of that? But I would never fancy quiche; I would not think to make one and would never buy one. It's so often got such a soggy bottom, a rubbery middle and is coldcoldcold from the fridge. Yuck.

 

The other annoying thing about quiche for vegetarians such as ourselves (do you find this?), is that at parties and other shin-digs that rely on buffets, there's often a veggie option quiche as well as a bacony one. But you can't tell the difference between them, they look the same beige-ness. So either you have to ask the host, which makes me feel like I'm being fussy, or miss out on what really was meant to be the star of the veggie show.

 

But Dad wanted quiche, so we gave him quiche. And, hold the phone, it was lovely. Really though, my involvement only went as far as sitting and instructing. Now here's what you need to know 1. Mum is a tad scared of pastry, well not scared, she just doesn't have masterful feelings towards it. 2. We were amalgamating a number of recipes and I was too busy reading about preserving to be paying proper attention and 3. We were sipping rather stiff cocktails throughout the process. And it was still delish.

 

A crumbly, buttery pastry with a savory whisper of cheese and a sweet, not too wobbly, just wobbly enough middle. A really lovely light tea with just enough of a fatty nod to satisfy those end of day hunger pangs. So be inspired, a couple of distracted squiffs can do it, you definitely can. Sip cocktails and eat quiche. With Love and Cake.

Cheese and Onion Quiche.

A mishmash of several recipes and some improvisation

A few notes:

• This will make a tad too much pasty, pop it in the freezer and make some tarts another day.
• This doesn't have to be cheese and onion if that's too boring for you, you could add whatever you fancy really, mushrooms, chutney, tomatoes, blue cheese, peanut butter...okok maybe not the last one.
• I always make pastry in a food processor, it's so much quicker and less messy and hot sticky hands don't get involved, which is bad for pastry. But if you don't have one, you can absolutely do it by hand, rubbing in the butter with your finger tips and mixing everything else in with your hands.

Makes enough for 4

You will need

A 20cm pie dish or cake tine, greased well

For the pastry

250g plain flour

125g butter

25g parmesan, finely grated 

1 egg

For the filling

A big dab of butter

2 small onions, finely sliced

80g cheddar, grated

100ml milk

2 eggs

1 tsp mustard powder

lots of pepper of some cayenne

• Preheat the oven to 180°
• First make the pastry by whizzing together the flour and butter together in a food processor until they look like breadcrumbs.
• Pulse in the cheese followed by the egg and as much cold water as it needs to come together as a dough.
• Roll the pastry out to a thickness of less than 5mm and line the tin with it, pressing it in lightly and pricking it with a fork all over. 
• Trim any major edges but leave a good amount of overhang to allow for shrinkage, you will need to leave more than you think. Pop it on a baking tray.
• Now cover with grease-proof paper and fill the case with baking beads (hA! like you have them, who does?) or some uncooked rice or beans (you can save them as your official pastry beans).
• Pop in the oven for 10 minutes, then remove the beads/beans and paper and prick down any bubbles or bits that have risen with a fork again. Pop back in the oven for another 5.
• Meanwhile make the filling by cooking the onions in a frying pan in the butter on a low heat for a good 15-20 minutes until transparent and soft.
• Whisk together the milk, eggs, mustard, salt and pepper/cayenne.
• Now for assembly, spread the onions over the pastry base followed by the cheddar.
• Then pour over the liquid and stick it all back in the oven. Bake for 30ish minutes, but keep an eye on it because it will depend on how squishy you like your eggs. 
• Eat quiche.