Sage Green Quiche

Today, I read  'You are not working from home, you are at home during a crisis trying to work'.  And it is so true to emphasize this distinction.

Anyway, not wanting to go off on a rant, let me share this Green Sage Quiche.  I made this Green Sage Quiche in the first week of quarantine, with eggs that had to be used.  

At our last 'normal shopping trip' we picked up some Sage Cheese from the supermarket to try, part of the attraction was the green marbled effect on the cheese, but neither of us have been nibbling in the evening on cheesy crackers so it was used in this rather green Quiche.

In the absence of spinach, there is also some lettuce in the Quiche as that was the only green vegetable in my fridge, that's if you can count salad leaves as a vegetable.  

Yellow Courgette Turmeric Quiche

With the weather being so poor over the weekend, I found myself in the kitchen making the most of homegrown vegetable.  

I have made a Courgette Blueberry Cake made with the blueberries I picked last week and another Yellow Courgette Quiche. 

This Yellow Courgette Quiche must be the winner as the most yellowist quiche that I have ever made.  It was enhanced further with a teaspoon of turmeric. Pretty loud. 

We have had  the quiche over three days, served either with new potatoes and homegrown beans or just homegrown salad. 

Green Beans, Yellow Courgette and Cheddar Quiche

I made this Green Bean, Yellow Courgette and Cheddar Quiche last weekend. with vegetables from the garden plot.  It was served with salad and tomatoes which were also homegrown. 

I was enjoying the quiche very much, then I tasted a papery texture in mouth.  In my head I thought it must be either the courgettes or one of the lettuce leaves and continued eating.  It was only when we finished eating,  I mentioned it to D that it tasted a bit papery in places and he agreed.  It was only on his agreeing that it dawned on me that I had left the baking parchment paper on the pastry when I blind baked it. Yes I made the shortcrust pasty from scratch this time.  I have never done anything like this before.  

As we had only eaten half of the quiche, the following day we were surprisingly able to separate the eggy quiche part from the pastry  and pull out the remaining baking parchment paper.

Now that I have told you this, I might as well admit to you that I made another mistake in my rushed attempt to get this Quiche into the oven.  I was given some eggs by the neighbours, I cracked them one by one into a jug, before adding it to the milk for mixing.  Well, I forgot to add one of the eggs to the mixture.  It was only when I was about to transfer it to the oven for cooking, that my eyes fell upon the egg still in the jug.  Well, I quickly resolved that by whisking it and pouring it over the filling, giving the quiche filling a gentle stir here and there to blend.  It turned out fine, thank goodness.  

Honestly, I don't mess up like this - so this was an unusual day in the kitchen, perhaps my mind was on other things... 

Burnt Green Cauliflower Quiche

Despite the name, this is not a Burnt Green Cauliflower Quiche. I have only used the word 'burnt' here as a descriptive to draw attention to the golden colouring on top.  

Perhaps I should have called it Autumn Green Cauliflower Quiche instead, as the colours in this quiche are reflective of the autumnal trees around me, but then that would me getting all poetic or pretentious - depending on your view - so I stick with Burnt Green Cauliflower Quiche as some of the cauliflower florets peeking out of the quiche are tinged a little from over baking. 

This Quiche was made with a whole head of Green Cauliflower - If you haven't seen what a green cauliflower looks like, then please click here to see it in the raw.   

The photograph of the Quiche was taken a day after it was made, so the glossy topping had muted overnight in the fridge.  Still as anyone who knows, Quiche is good to eat hot, warm or cold. 

I am sharing a slice of Burnt Green Cauliflower Quiche with The VegHog who is hosting #EatYourGreens this month.  There is plenty of time to join in, so please do.   

Green Cauliflower Quiche  
Serves 8 as an accompaniment 
Adapted and based on this recipe.
Ingredients
Blind baked shortcrust pastry lining a 8 - 9 inch fluted tin
1 medium cauliflower (green, purple or ordinary), broken into florets 

250ml milk or double cream
3 eggs
1 teaspoons grainy mustard
100g cheddar cheese, crumbled
Salt and pepper to taste

Method 

For the cauliflower: steam until tender but still with a bit of bite, then drain and allow to cool.

In a bowl, pour the double cream, then whisk in the eggs, mustard and season to taste. 
Set aside
Carefully and evenly spread on the shortcrust pastry.
place the steamed cauliflower over the blind baked shortcrust pastry.
Pour over the creamy egg mustard mixture.
Then evenly scatter over the grated cheese.
Bake gas mark 4/180oc for 40 - 45 minutes or until golden. 
Allow to cool, before serving. 

Love Beetroot Hearts Quiche with Feta and Chives

I  harvested some beetroot from my garden a few weeks back and made a few recipes with it such as Beetroot Gratin, Beetroot Horseradish Pasta Salad, Beetroot, Beetroot Chutney,  Soy 'Lamb' Curry, and Beetroot Chocolate Cake.   

And this gorgeous Beetroot Heart Shaped Quiche with Feta and chives.

I made this Love Beetoot Heart Quiche totally from scratch.  From peeling and cooking the beetroot to cutting them into dainty hearts, to making the shortcrust pasty which is dyed with beetroot powder, but you would not know it as once it was baked, it lost that magnificent colour.  

Supernatural Green Quiche with Spirulina Shortcrust

Nothing supernatural about this quiche, its really just a Broccoli Quiche on a green pastry base. 

The shortcrust pasty is naturally dyed green with the addition of spirulina powder to the dough; and the eggy filling.  Well I steamed some broccoli and blitzed half of it with the milk, then poured it into a bowl and whisked it with the eggs and poured it over the pastry case that had been lined with the remaining broccoli heads and doused with some Welsh cheddar cheese. 

At one point during the cooking process, I actually panicked and thought the quiche was not going to set but fortunately it did.  This Broccoli quiche was packed with lots of flavours.  Even the spirulina powder in the shortcrust pastry imparted its sea earth flavours.  Its just a shame the photograph here doesn't pick up the green in pastry, though I must admit it is a little scorched here and there.  Here's a song by the Jamaican Reggae Band The Dread & Terrible called 'Spirulina'. 

I am sharing this recipe with 'Eat Your Greens' which I am hosting this month and my new Co-Host The Veg Hog;  and Cook Once Eat Twice hosted by Searching for Spice.

Homegrown Zucchini and Cherry Tomato Quiche

Not the most original recipe, but I am delighted with these individual Courgette aka Zucchini and Cherry Tomato Quiches as they made my first lot of homegrown tomatoes in years. 

We did enjoy some of the cherry tomatoes au naturale and popped them into our mouths - bursting with full flavour and so sweet and juicy.

Some of you will know that I harvested my first courgette last week; and two more stripey green specimens this weekend.  Expect a number of courgette recipes the next two months, but I kick off with these little Quiches that would also be perfect for a picnic basket.

Sweetcorn and Pepper Quiche with Harissa Kick

We drove to the National Botanic Garden of Wales in Carmathenshire yesterday.  I will share photographs with you later in the week.  

Today has been a day of house-work, laundry and ironing.  And a little cooking: pasta lunch is made for tomorrow and so is our main, that only has to be reheated when we get in.  So as you can imagine, I am a little tired and and ready to plonk myself in front of the TV for a DVD movie.

Before I go, I will share with you these individual Bell Pepper Quiche.  I made these a couple of weeks ago.  Strips of red, yellow and green peppers, studded with sweetcorn and hidden within the creamy egg cheesy mixture there is green harissa, but you don't know about it until you bite into it. I preferred this quiche to the others I've made recently, perhaps because of the green harissa that was made with coriander, but you can use red harissa if you so wish, or omit it all together, its up to you - at home its your recipe.  I am sharing this with Helen and Michelle for Extra Veg. 

Individual Mint Flecked Green Quiches

I made this so called Mint Flecked Green Quiche a couple of weeks back when D was bringing home asparagus bundles.  I had a few ideas as to what to do with the asparagus, but D requested quiche, as its not something I make that often.  

Well with it being Summer and all that, how can I refuse a dish that can be portable too, especially when you make them in individual pastry cases. 

D complimented that he could really taste the asparagus.  The peas were dotted here and there like green marbles and the mint, minced to its dear life - flecking the golden cheesy creamy topping. I personally found the Quiche incredibly rich and actually struggled to eat a whole one, even though it was served with a side of salad.

You could make this with any other green vegetable, but as asparagus and mint are in season, I chose to go with the flow. 

Laverbread, Samphire and Seaweed Flakes Also Known as 'Sea Vegetable' Quiche with Perl Las

One of the prettiest Quiches I have ever made.  Strewn with samphire spears, sprinkled with sea flakes and hidden under the pillowy creamy cheese softness, you will find a thin layer of Welsh laverbread on the still crisp pastry crust. 

When I went to Swansea Vegfest we also went to Swansea Market. Swansea Market is absolutely thriving.  There is a positive vibe and buzz in the air with the jostling and bustling  - not an empty stall in sight.  I brought back home some samphire known fondly as asparagus of the sea and some fresh laverbread (known in Wales as Welshman's Caviar); and some Perl Las cheese.  I knew exactly what I wanted to make with these ingredients as a recipe for 'Sea Vegetable' Quiche has been in the planning.  

At home I  also had some  Atlantic Kelp Organic Seaweed Flakes (see below), but I had to wait for the samphire and laverbread that are not so easy to come by, even though I live in the Welsh valleys, but travel a little closer to the coastline then you have may just be able to acquire some. And the decision to add Perl Las to the quiche was well rather poetic as Perl Las translates as Blue Pearl.  Perfect and a bit corny at the same time. 

The Sea Vegetable Quiche was absolutely lovely.  It tasted of the sea, you know that taste on your lips when you have been at the beach....but I have to add it is a bit of an acquired taste.  I think most people will not mind the salty samphire and the seaweed flakes, but the laverbread - well that is where it comes to personal taste.  I don't love laverbread, but I don't mind it now and again.  I have one little regret and that is not showing you a cut slice of this gorgeous quiche, as it was very pretty inside - flecked. 

Baby Sweetcorn, Peas and Mint Quiche

It is with some amusement I note that my past few blog posts have been rather yellow, and to add to that I have another rather yellow - bronze tinged Quiche to share.  The difference with these are that they are smaller, individual ones.  I think sometimes they just look just nicer on a plate.

I am not a fan of baby sweetcorn or cornlettes.  To me they resemble a plastic pretend decorative vegetable, only good to garnish a salad plate or such.  Frankly, I find them quite tasteless, but I will put my hand up and admit that I do sometimes add it to Thai Red Curry, and only because D doesn't mind them. I actually prefer the baby sweetcorns bigger sister: sweetcorn on the cob,  Sweetcorn with more crunch and sweetcorn with more juice and sweetcorn with more flavour. 

I had originally planned to make a Spring Green Vegetable Quiche, but then when I walked past a packet of baby sweetcorn, my mind was changed.  So what changed my mind? Another colour was required on the plate.  Once made, the sweetcorn retained its crunch and there was slight sweetness from the peas and a hint of mint. I am sharing this recipe with Lavender and Lovage for Cooking with Herbs  challenge.

Wye Valley Asparagus, Broad Beans and Mint Quiche

Lighter and brighter evenings call for light and easy to eat food.  

Over the next few days, various quiches, tarts and salads will be appearing on our plate. One of the first is this Wye Valley Asparagus, Caerphilly Broad Beans and homegrown mint. 

D is totally enjoying these leggy green spears whilst they are in season and taking advantage of when he sees it on offer, bringing some home by the bundle for me to work my culinary magic on and bring to the table.  But truth is there is not an awful lot you can do to asparagus.  I mean I don't want to mess with it too much, turning it into a soup or an asparagus hummus. 

Because of the asparagus short season, I really do think the best way to enjoy it is to simply blanch it and tuck in: dipping it into soft boiled eggs; stirred into a pasta dish or as a simple tart topping, maybe even in a risotto.  

Back to this home-made Asparagus, Broad Beans and Mint Quiche.  All the flavours were there.  The green grassy flavour of the asparagus, the burst of the fresh broad beans still in its skin and the mint was just right, not overpowering at all. The oozy eggy creamy cheesy filling was just right too, it had a little wobble which I liked; and more to my surprise this aspect remained - even on reheating.  

Garam Masala Radish Quiche with Radish Tops and Brie

Early in the week I harvested some radishes from the garden, this is the dish I made with them using the whole of the radish - roots and tops! 

I've cooked with the prickly radish green leafy tops before, they do need to be sauteed though, but if you don't fancy them, then just omit them from the recipe.  I've also spiced up the filling a little with the addition of garam masala and a pinch of chilli flakes, but again - this is totally optional.  I just thought it made the radishes taste a bit more interesting, for those of you who have had enjoyed a vegetarian Mooli  Curry dish at an South Asian eatery will know what I mean. 

If you look closely, (you may need to squint a little) you may be able to see that I have tried to arrange some of the sliced radish roots into a flower petal shape. If you can get your mitts on rainbow radishes, your Radish Quiche will look pretty amazing. 

Rustic Asparagus and Purple Sprouting Broccoli Quiche

The asparagus season is so short, so for those of you who like them with a passion, you better get some soon.

Well my husband did not hesitate and picked up some at a reduced price at a supermarket and gave me a big hint to make a cheesy Quiche with them.  Who said 'real men don't eat Quiche?!1 Because I would strongly disagree.  It got me thinking when it was the last time I made Quiche at home, and I really couldn't remember.  So a quick blog search revealed that the last one I shared on my blog was  Summertime last year and it was a Caramelised Red Onion Brie Quiche made with home-grown strawberries. 

So his request albeit through a hint was accommodated.

Not only does this Quiche have asparagus, I also added in some blanched Purple Sprouting Broccoli. showcased In My Kitchen blog post.  

I couldn't be bothered to trim off the excess cooked pastry and in some places it had shrunk a bit, so I left it and decided to call it rustic - works, don't you think.  

Not only did this make for a good meal, there is plenty left over for him to take into work tomorrow.

Strawberry, Caramelised Red Onion, Thyme and Brie Tart

One of my absolute favourite Toasted Panini combinations is cranberry. brie cheese and rocket.  I had often thought about doing a version with strawberries but shyed away from trying it, as strawberries do not necessarily have the same sharp tartness of cranberries.  However, with strawberries still growing in my garden, I decided to take the plunge and experiment, but not crushed in a Panini.  I decided to go all out and make a sweet savoury tart from scratch, yes including the short crust pastry.

Chantenay Carrot and Thyme Flan

It doesn't matter what the weather is like outside: autumnal or wintry, you can be rest assured that the one vegetable that will always inject some colour onto your plate is the orange root vegetable - the crunchy carrot. Another thing going for the carrot is you are able to find it all year round.  Its also such a versatile vegetable, not only does it appear on your plate as a side dish, it can be transformed into a soup, a cake, a biscuit, a breakfast waffle, a dip or even a jam!

A couple of years ago, I grew loads of carrots: in pots and in the ground.  They tasted surprisingly like carrot.  I know that's a odd statement to make, but once you've grown your own - you really do start tasting  and smelling the difference in vegetables.  Anyway, this time round - no home grown carrots for me, they had to be bought in. 

I was actually looking for some baby carrots for this recipe, but I couldn't find them so in its place I picked up some stumpy  Chantenay carrots.   If you can’t find either of them at your greengrocers or supermarket, just substitute them with the larger variety and chop it in half.  I think carrots also lends itself well to many herbs, but in this flan they are infused with some homegrown (dried) thyme. 

I was encouraged by a blog post written by fellow blogger Nicisme at Cherrapeno to submit a recipe into a competition called a Carrot Competition.  It is being hosted by lovethegarden.com.
UPDATE; Fellow blogger RuckusButt of Food.Life.Dog. made her version of this flan.  I think its looks splendid,  please do go by and check it out here.  

Chantenay Carrot and Thyme Flan
Serves 4 – 6
For the shortcrust pastry
Ingredients
170g plain flour
A pinch of salt
85g cold butter
2 tablespoons cold water
Method for short crust pastry
Sift the flour with the salt into a large bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add 2 - 3 tablespoons cold water to the mixture. Mix to a firm dough.
Chill, wrapped for at least 30 minutes before using.
Preheat oven to gas mark 6.
Roll out the pastry and use to line a 8 - 9 inch round dish, then bake blind.  Set aside to cool.
For the Carrot Thyme Flan Filling
Ingredients
1 tablespoons of olive oil
4 – 6 shallots, sliced
4 – 6 Chantenay or baby carrots, sliced in half length ways
1 – 2 medium carrots, grated
150ml milk or for a luxurious texture single cream
1 medium egg
1 teaspoon dried  thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
In a medium pan, heat the oil and add in the shallots.  Saute until soft without browning,  then add the halved carrots, grated carrots, thyme and seasoning cook on low heat covered until the halved carrots are al dente.  Turn off the heat.  Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.  When cool, carefully remove the halved carrots with a slotted spoon and set aside. Gently spread the sautéed shallots, grated carrots evenly into the flan case. Then as you wish, decoratively lay the halved carrots on top.
Whisk the milk with the egg.  Pour into the flan case.
Bake on gas mark 5 for 30 – 35 minutes until set.  This is good at room temperature or cold.

A girl with a flan

There is nothing that special about this flan.  It is just cheese, onion and tomatoes - but the addition of the buttermilk makes it delicate, creamy and light.

I've been making a lot of savoury tarts, flans and quiches recently and thought that my husband would be tiring of it, but he actually said this was one of his favourites. It was just a shame that they were not made with homegrown tomatoes.  As soon as local tomatoes comes flooding in, we are reminded of our lost allotment plot, the shed, the greenhouse and so forth. It makes us really sad for the things we lost, but also reminds us of the benefits we took for granted of being out in the fresh outdoors: digging, planting, weeding and working the land.  Since losing the allotment plot and my job, I've gained more than a few pounds.  Not so much for me too go on a diet, but enough to make me feel uncomfortable in myself.  I need to find me some more outdoor distractions as the tiny garden plot; and exploring parts of Scotland at weekends is obviously proving not to be enough.

Anyway, this Cheese, onion and tomato flan shows that sometimes the simple ingredients make the best dishes.  The shortcrust pastry is flaky and light too.  Some egg based dishes taste very eggy, this one doesn't as the cheesy mustard buttermilk disguise that. This flan is great served with green salad, now that is something I have growing at home.

Cheese, onion and tomato flan
Serves 4 - 6
For the shortcrust pastry
Line pastry is 11 ½ inch by 8 inch or a round 8 - 9 inch tin.
Ingredients
225g plain flour
½ teaspoon salt
125g unsalted butter
3 tablespoons water
Method
Add flour and salt to a bowl. Add the butter then rub it into the flour with your fingertips, lifting the mixture out of the bowl to incorporate as much air as possible as this will make the pastry light. Continue until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs, then add the water a little at a time and use your fingertips to press the mixture together and form a dough. Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead rolling out the dough, into whatever shape you want – a round, oval or rectangle. Blind bake in a hot oven at gas mark 6 for 10 minutes with baking beans, then remove the baking beans and bake for another 10 minutes.
Ingredients for the cheese, onion and tomato filling
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium onions, sliced
100g cheddar cheese
2 eggs
200ml buttermilk
1 teaspoon grain mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tomatoes, sliced
Method
Heat the oil and saute the onion until transparent.  Allow to cool, then spread evenly over the pastry base.  Sprinkle cheese on top.  Beat the eggs, buttermilk, mustard, and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Pour into the flan case.  Arrange the sliced tomatoes around the outside edge, pressing gently.  Bake in the oven at gas mark 4 for 0 - 45 minutes, until set and golden.

Carrot, Puy Lentil and Parsley Flan

This is not a super healthy green salad, but I think it may be the healthiest of flans I've ever made, if not it sure looks the part.

The carrots almost look like orange ribbons and the puy lentils like bronze sequins enhanced by the flecks of green from the parsley.  The carrots were soft and sweet and the lentils gave it that bite and nutty flavour. All in all it was a very light flan to eat.   Serve this flan simply with some new potatoes.  The recipe still needs a bit of tweaking, so you may have some of the carrot-lentil filling left over.  Don't ditch it, its good cold as a sandwich filler or stirred into sliced cabbage to make a slaw of sorts.

I am submitting a slice of this light flan recipe to My Legume Love Affair # 37. MLLA was founded by Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook who is also hosting Julys edition of MLLA; as well as to Priya and Kaarasaaram who is hosting this months Veggie/Fruit of the month which is the humble 'carrot'. 
Updated 26/07/2011: This recipe was made by Sue at Our New Life in the Country, please do go by and visit her blog.

Carrot, Puy Lentils and Parsley Flan
Serves 6 - 8 as an accompaniment
Ingredients for the shortcrust pastry to line a 8 - 9 inch round tin
225g plain flour
½ teaspoon salt
125g butter
3 tablespoons water
Method
Add flour and salt to a bowl. Add the butter then rub it into the flour with your fingertips, lifting the mixture out of the bowl to incorporate as much air as possible as this will make the pastry light. Continue until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs, then add the water a little at a time and use your fingertips to press the mixture together and form a dough. Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead rolling out the dough, into whatever shape you want – a round, oval or rectangle. Blind bake in a hot oven at gas mark 6 for 20 minutes.
Ingredients for the filling
160g puy lentils (or brown lentils)
350g carrots, grated
small handful of parsley leaves, minced
3 eggs
150ml milk
1 generous tablespoon of grain mustard or to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Method for the filling

Boil the puy lentils in water until tender, then drain.  Stir in the carrots and parsley.
Spread evenly over the pastry.
In a small bowl whisk the eggs, milk and mustard.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Then evenly pour over the carrot-lentil mixture.

Bake in oven at gas mark for 5 for 30 - 35 minutes.

This is good at room temperature or cold.