Quiche

Basic quiche recipe

• crème fraîche
• grated sharp cheese (Cheddar is ideal, but any mature hard cheese is fine)
• eggs
• vegetables (see below)
• seasoning such as salt, pepper, piri-piri, chilli, bouillon powder, turmeric, curry mix, ras el hanout…
• puff pastry (I use ready-made deep frozen squares)
• flour (organic spelt, chickpea or wheat; I often use pancake mix)
• bicarbonate of soda (baking powder)

Decide what vegetables you wish to use; some suggestions for yummy combinations, but your imagination is the only limit!

• chopped or thinly sliced courgette, with or without some spinach, mushrooms, red pepper (sweet)
• mixed mushrooms
• asparagus, peas, carrots

(N.B. Harder vegetables like carrots should be blanched first.)

The one in the photo uses fresh green and yellow courgette (squash/zucchini) from my garden, onion and garlic.

I sliced the courgette fine using a mandolin and left it for a while in a sieve to let any moisture drain out.

Fry the finely sliced onion and garlic so that it just starts turning brown.

In the meantime, pre-heat the oven to 180-200 degrees C.

Allow the deep-frozen puff pastry to defrost slightly – it only takes a few minutes for it to become limp enough to line an oiled oven dish – and then line the dish. Allow a little extra up the sides as the pastry can shrink during cooking.

Place in the hot oven for 5-10 minutes until light brown, dry and fluffy. Avoid overcooking it now, as it’s going back into the oven with the mix!

Depending on how much mixture you want to make, break 2 or more eggs into a bowl.

(Rule of thumb: for 2-3 courgettes and enough quiche for 4-5 meals I use 3-4 eggs; for 18-20 guests I’d use at least 10-12 eggs.)

Whisk or beat.

Add the crème fraîche and mix that in well.

Gradually add all the other ingredients, leaving the flour till last. Only then can you judge how liquid the mix is (courgette tends to be very moist).

The mix should be able to just about slosh in the mixing bowl.

Pour into the dish, covering the pre-cooked pastry, but leaving room to rise.

If you discover you’ve got mix left over, just pour it into another oiled dish, yes, even without the puff pastry, and place it in the oven with the other dish.

Decorate the top with strips of leftover pastry and, if you wish, with thin slices of tomato. Be creative!

Sprinkling some extra cheese on the top results in a tasty topping.

Since the oven is on anyway, I usually bake some potatoes and a tray of sliced root vegetables, or cook chopped up carrots in a covered dish (with a knob of butter and a small amount of water), an easy and very tasty way of preparing carrots and of using the oven efficiently.

Keep an eye on the quiche – it should be ready within 20-35 minutes depending on what vegetables you used, how hot your oven is and how moist the original mixture. Don’t be afraid to let it cook a little longer, so long as it doesn’t start to burn.

Kaiyum, also a creative and original vegetarian cook, is a regular contributor of our magazine. His cookbook, Zen in the Kitchen, is featured in this article. Link to all articles and recipes by this author published on Osho News.