QUICK QUICHE LORRAINE

This is a recipe from my school days, it's easy and great for lunch served warm, or at room temperature, with a salad; or hot with baked beans for supper, one of our favourites. You will need an 8in (20cm) fluted flan dish. A loose bottomed metal flan tin is best but a ceramic flan dish will work too. 

INGREDIENTS

For 9oz Shortcrust Pastry:

6oz Plain Flour

3oz Butter, cubed

1.5oz Water

This is using the ratio of half fat to flour, half water to fat, weighing the water is the key and makes it easy to scale up. More info.. Shortcrust Pastry

Filling:

4oz-6oz Bacon (about 4 - 6 rashers), chopped

1 Onion, peeled and chopped

4oz Cheddar Cheese, grated

2 Eggs

1/4pt Milk

Mixed Herbs

Salt and Pepper

Alternative Fillings:

You can use streaky or back bacon and could replace the bacon with chopped cooked ham, cooked salmon or vegetables of your choice. You can also replace the milk with cream or a use a mix of milk and cream.

METHOD

Make the pastry. Tip the flour into a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and rub in gently with fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the water until the pastry comes together in a ball.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and line the flan tin / dish, pressing into the fluted edges; leave the edges overhanging the sides. Place in the fridge to chill for 30 mins.

Preheat the oven to 200c / 400f.  Prick the pastry case all over with a fork, to prevent air bubbles forming during baking.  Line the base and sides with baking parchment and weigh it down with baking beans or rice, making sure it is filled right the way up the sides of the pastry base to prevent the sides from collapsing in. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, this is baking blind. 

Separate an egg for an egg wash using the egg white, reserve the egg yolk. Remove the beans and paper from the pastry base, paint lightly beaten egg white onto the pastry base and bake the empty case for a further 10 minutes, or until the pastry is lightly browned. This is to seal the pastry base and prevent a soggy bottom.

Once baked remove the pastry case from the oven and leave to cool. Using a sharp knife, trim the overhanging pastry.

Reduce the oven temperature to 180c / 350f.

Now to make the filling.  Crisp the bacon in a sauté pan over a medium heat for 10 minutes. Transfer to the cooled pastry case with a slotted spoon.  Leave the juices in the pan.

Place the chopped onion in the pan and cook over a medium heat for 8 minutes until golden.  Add to the pastry case and top with the grated cheese.

In a bowl, combine the eggs (including the reserved yolk and any left over egg white from the egg wash), milk, herbs, salt and pepper, then pour into the flan.  

Place on a baking sheet and bake for 25-30 mins until golden and just set. Be careful not to overcook the quiche or the filling will become tough. 

Enjoy!

PS:  If you've any pastry left why not make some Jam Tarts?

JAMES MARTIN'S BEST EVER QUICHE

I haven't actually made this yet, my recipe from my school days is much simpler, see Quick Quiche Lorraine.  This looks to be a much deeper and richer quiche and I look forward to trying it!

INGREDIENTS
Short Crust Pastry:
200g plain flour
100g butter
1 egg
Water if needed

Custard:
125ml double cream
125ml milk
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
Salt and pepper

Filling:
2 onions, peeled and sliced
2 tomatoes sliced
200g grated cheddar
3 slices thick ham
Few sprigs of thyme

METHOD
Preheat oven to 180°c.

Place the flour into a bowl, add the butter and salt then rub between your fingers until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Add the egg and mix with your fingers. Knead on a floured surface until smooth, wrap in cling and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Grease a 24cm tart tin and roll the pastry out to on a lightly floured surface and use to line the tin. Blind bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

Sweat the onions in a pan with a knob of butter until deeply coloured, cool then spread over the bottom of the tart case.

To make the filling, whisk together the eggs, cream, and milk then season.

Pour the custard into the tart tin, add the ham, sprinkle the cheese over the top then lay the tomatoes all over. Sprinkle with thyme and put in the oven for 40 to 50 minutes, it should have a slight wobble in the middle.

For the salad, chop the tomatoes and slice into 1/2s and 1/4s mix with the oil and vinegar season.

Once cooked, let the quiche sit for 5 minutes and trim the edge of the pastry crust.

Serve hot, warm or cold with salad.

Source: https://www.jamesmartinchef.co.uk/recipes/best-ever-quiche

EGGY BREAD / FRENCH TOAST / ROLL UPS

We never really had French Toast in our house, or "Eggy Bread" as we call it over here.  I remember seeing it for the first time in Kramer v Kramer.  I have since become quite fond of it though, not necessarily for breakfast but for when I crave something sweet and don't want to go to the trouble of making pancakes.. I find the taste is quite similar.  It's also a great way of using up stale bread.

Plain French Toast is just bread dipped both sides in beaten egg thinned with a little milk (or water if you've no milk in), then fried in butter until golden brown.  It's up to you what you do with it thereafter.   You can make it savoury or sweet...

INGREDIENTS
2 Slices of Bread
1 Egg
2 Dessert Spoons Milk
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract (optional)
Knob of Butter
Drop of Vegetable Oil (this stops the butter from burning)

METHOD
Soak the bread slices in the eggy mixture for 5 minutes a side
Heat the butter and oil in a frying pan
Fry the egg-soaked bread until golden on both sides

VARIATION - ROLL UPS
Cut the crusts off the bread slices
With a rolling pin flatten the bread slices
Spread filling of your choice
Roll up the bread as tightly as you can into a sausage shape
Soak in the egg mixture on all sides
Cook as above

SERVING IDEAS
Savoury
Serve on it's own or with bacon

Make a sandwich with..
     Cheese
     Cheese and Ham
     Cheese and Tomato
     Cheese and Onion
Press sandwich together to help it hold, soak in the egg mixture, fry on both sides

Tip.. finely grate the cheese and mix with a little mayonnaise to make a spread

Make roll ups filled with any savoury filling as above

Sweet
After cooking dredge with..
     Sugar
     Sugar and a little Lemon Juice
     Icing Sugar
     Cinnamon Sugar (a little cinnamon mixed with sugar)
     Golden Syrup
     Maple Syrup

Or top with Marmalade!  A favourite of mine, acquired during my time at boarding school, is fried bread and marmalade… trust me it's delicious!  Topping Eggy Bread with Marmalade is pretty good too.

Make roll ups filled with..
     Peanut Butter
     Nutella / Chocolate Hazelnut Spread
     Jam
     Lemon Curd
     Thinly sliced Banana*
     Thinly sliced Strawberries*

*Don't overfill with fruit or have the slices too thick or you'll have trouble rolling them up. When you put them into the egg mixture to soak, put the side with the join at the bottom so that it soaks up the egg mixture first.. it helps to seal the join.

After cooking dredge with any of the above toppings, sugar, syrup etc.
If desired top with Cream / Crème fraîche / Yoghurt

Filling the Roll Up with Strawberry Jam and dredging in Sugar after cooking tastes remarkably like a Jam Doughnut!  You can also cut the Roll Ups into bite sized portions so that you can eat them with your fingers.

Enjoy!

SPANISH TORTILLA

A Spanish Tortilla it is not a Mexican flour pancake but a Spanish omelette.  It's very easy to make, is great hot or cold and is a staple for a Tapas spread.  Also great for picnics!

INGREDIENTS
Potatoes
Onions (optional)
Olive Oil
Eggs
Sea salt

WHAT YOU NEED: A non stick frying pan is a must.   I use a standard frying pan which is about the same circumference as a dinner plate.  Also a large bowl and 2 large plates the same circumference as your frying pan.

METHOD
Break about 6 or 7 eggs into a large bowl with some salt and mix with a fork until combined.

Chop an onion and sauté in a little olive oil until clear but not brown.  Add to the egg mixture.

Peel your potatoes and chop into quite small cubes.
(You need enough to completely fill your frying pan)

Heat some olive oil in your frying pan. Don't use too much oil, you are not deep frying, you just need enough so that all the potatoes are covered.  Cook the potatoes on a medium heat. You don't want them to brown so be careful not to have the heat too high.  Putting a lid on the pan whilst cooking will help to cook them in the steam that they generate and will help to prevent browning.

When the potatoes are cooked tip them into the egg mixture.  If you have used too much oil use a slotted spoon to remove them from the pan so as not to add the oil as well. Turn the potatoes over in the egg so that they are all coated. The heat of the potatoes will start the cooking process of the egg.

If necessary add a little more olive oil to the pan and heat.  Tip all the egg & potato mixture back into the pan.  It should be absolutely full.  Cook on a low to medium heat.  If you have the heat too high the underneath will brown before the egg cooks in the middle, (putting a lid on the pan from time to time can help the cooking process).  Whilst the mixture is cooking, using the back of a large spoon, keep pushing around the edges of the mixture to help create a rounded edge.

When the underneath is lightly browned and the mixture is starting to go firm you need to turn the tortilla over.  Don't panic, there is a method!

Place a plate over the pan, one that is the same size or larger.  Put one hand on top of the plate and the other hand on your pan handle and turn them over.  Lift off the pan and you will have the tortilla on the plate, the cooked underside now visible. Now place another plate on top and turn over again.  Now you will see the uncooked part, probably quite loose but don't worry.  Now place the frying pan on top of the plate and turn over once more.  Now the uncooked side is on the bottom of the pan.  If you have lost any bits of potato in the turning process, add them back to the pan.

Return to the heat and cook on a low to medium heat until the underside is browned and the whole tortilla is quite firm.  Again use the back of a large spoon to push the edges of the mixture in to create a rounded edge.

Note:  If when you turned the tortilla the first time it looked like it could do with a little more browning, it should be a golden colour, just repeat the process when you have cooked the other side.

Once the tortilla is cooked, place your serving plate over the pan and invert again.

You can serve this immediately, hot, with any accompaniment of your choice, we quite like it with baked beans!  Or leave to cool and serve at room temperature on its own as a tapa with some crusty bread.  I also like to serve it with some Chorizo, Serrano Ham and some Tomato, Pepper & Onion Salad.  It's also good with chargrilled peppers, the kind you can buy in jars in the supermarket.

Variations:  You can add any other vegetables to the mixture if you choose.  Any bits of peppers, courgettes etc that you may have left.  The Spanish often add spinach or asparagus.