Friday, 8 May 2009

Broccoli-cheddar quiche with wholewheat crust

I had a whole head of broccoli ($1 from the farmer's market 10 days previously and still perfect) to use up, as well as a lot of (cage-free, delicious omega-3) eggs. So I made a quiche. A delicious quiche, hearty and (mostly) healthy.

Wholewheat crust:
Blend 1/2 stick butter (1/4cup) into ~2cups wholewheat flour, using a knife to cut and blend it in, then using your fingers at the end. Keep it as cold and un-worked as possible - you don't want gluten to develop because of handling the flour too much. It should look like breadcrumbs. Cautiously trickle 2-6tbsp cold water into the mixture, until it JUST sticks together. Press it into a ball with your hands, cover and refrigerate for half an hour or so.

Preheat the oven to 380F. Lightly grease and flour a pie dish. Lightly flour a clean, flat surface and roll out the pastry until it's 1/4" thin, then carefully drape it over the pie dish. Gently press it into place. Cut the excess off with a knife (or just fold it over if you want particularly rustic/hearty crusts at the side of the quiche), using the excess to patch up any thin bits or holes from before. Prick the entire pie crust with a fork, and bake "blind" for 15 minutes with no filling. This means weighting the pastry down with ceramic or dried beans on top of parchment/wax paper so it doesn't puff up.

Meanwhile, steam the broccoli until it's as cooked as you like it. Drain well. Beat together 3-5 eggs and 1/4-3/4 cups of milk (or even, cream or buttermilk) with some salt, pepper and oregano. Arrange the broccoli in the part-baked pie crust, sprinkle 1/2-1cup grated sharp cheddar over the top, and then pour the beaten egg/milk mixture over that until it almost reaches the top of the pie crust edges. I start with beating 3 eggs into some milk, pour that over and then see how much more I need, then beat up another couple with some more milk (exact proportions aren't necessary) if the first few weren't quite enough to fill the pie crust.

Bake the entire quiche for another half hour. You may want to broil it gently for a couple of minutes just so the cheese crisps and crunches and browns itself. Leave to cool for 5 minutes before attempting to devour. Refrigerate any leftovers and eat as lunches for the next few days (I've had it 4 days in a row now, which is getting a little tiresome but it's still delicious).

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