Summer green vegetables are reaching their peak just now, and this quiche brings out the best in them. Fetch a crop from the garden or market stall, and mix with creamy ricotta and salty blue cheese in this fresh and vibrant quiche.
Servings
Makes 4 generous slices, or 6-8 average ones!
Timings
About 15 mins initially to prepare the pastry, and another 15 mins to prepare the filling including steaming the veg. Baking time is an initial 10 minutes for the case alone, then 45-50 mins for the filled quiche.
You Will Need
For the pastry
- 115g plain flour
- 115g wholemeal flour
- 100g soft margarine
- a pinch of seasalt
- a pinch of paprika
- a few drops of cold water
For the filling
- Approx 180g fresh green veg (I used broccoli, french beans, runner beans and mange tout)
- about 3 spring onions
- 3 large eggs
- 130g ricotta cheese
- 50g stilton cheese
- twist of black pepper
Method
- Grease a 20cm flan dish with some margarine or spread. I like to line the base with a circle of greaseproof paper in addition, as I find it helps to remove the quiche once baked.
- Make the pastry by sieving the two flours into a food processor fixed with blade, along with the margarine cut into cubes. Pulse until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add a few drops of water and pulse again until you have a ball of pastry whirling around the blade. Take it out, pat into a ball and wrap in clingfilm, placing it in the fridge to stay cool.
- Prepare the veg. Trim the ends off the beans and cut into 2-3cm lengths. Trim the ends of the mange tout, and cut any leaves and tough stalks off the broccoli.
- Put the veg into a steamer over boiling water for about 10 mins.
- While the veg is steaming, turn on the oven and set to 180C. Take the pastry from the fridge and roll out with a rolling pin to a size that will fit the flan dish. Carefully place it into the dish. Leave any pieces overhanging at the edges for the moment. Prick the base with a fork in 5 or 6 places. Place it back in the fridge while the oven is getting up to temperature.
- Remove the veg from the steamer and drain in a colander. Set on one side.
- With the oven up to temperature, remove the pastry dish from the fridge. Crumple a square of greaseproof paper with your hands and place it in the dish. Fill the paper with baking beans, spreading them out with your fingers so they cover the whole of the base and are gently pressed up to the sides. Place in the oven for 10 mins.
- While the pastry base is baking, top and tail the spring onions and cut into 2-3cm lengths. Chop the stilton roughly into cubes. It will crumble a bit as you do.
- Mix the eggs and ricotta in a jug, and give it a few twists of black pepper.
- Remove the pastry dish from the oven and carefully lift the paper and baking beans into a separate bowl to cool. Don’t worry too much about any pastry overhanging the edges – it will drop off as it bakes, either at this stage or the next one.
- Spread the steamed veg across the pastry base, and crumble the stilton over it. Carefully pour the egg and ricotta mix into the pastry base, making sure it gets into all the little cavities between the veg. Dot over the chopped spring onions, making sure they are lightly pushed into the mixture so they don’t burn.
- Bake in the oven, still at 180C, for about 45 – 50 minutes. The mixture should have risen and the top should be slightly browned. Remove and leave to cool in the dish.
- When cool, chop into slices and serve!
Customise it!
Main opportunity for going freestyle here is in the choice of veg. Sticking broadly to the theme of seasonal green/garden veg, you can use whatever you have to hand – perhaps introduce some greens, spinach, kale or chard. Herbs will also go well. Any combination should work, but keep it to a total of around 180g so as not to overfill.
You can also use any other crumbly blue cheese in place of stilton e.g. Dorset Blue Vinney. If you’re short of time, or don’t want to bother making the pastry, then you can use some ready made shortcrust pastry.
A Different Kitchen 