Quiche
The basic principle of this dish is it is a left over dish, that is, whatever meat, veggies, cheese, you have in your fridge, can go in here! Obviously, the best quality ingredients, or a wide variety, will give more flavor. I always like to put eggplant, rukola, and lots of onions in my quiche.
First you must begin by making a piecrust. This is enough to make a thick, flaky, good-sized crust. To make a simple, good piecrust, you will need the following:
- Flour- fine quality, anywhere from 3-6 cups.
- Butter (or margarine, whichever you choose, but butter tastes better), about 175 grams, or 3/4 a stick. Room temperature, or colder is fine. Warmer than room temperature can be a problem.
- Salt, about 2 teaspoons
- Ice cubes about 5
First, but the ice cubes in a glass of water, and let sit. This can be a small glass- you want very cold water, you will need no more than 8 tablespoons. Let stand while you make crust.
Now take the butter, cut into 2-3 cm wide pieces, in a big bowl. Now add the flour, 2-3 cups, and begin working flour into butter by using 2 forks, in a sort of slicing motion. Be hesitant to add the flour, you can always add more, but you can not take away. Keep working with flour/butter mixture, adding a little more flour, until you have a mixture that looks like little peas (it is easier to work with a slightly too buttery dough than a dough too dry, and it tastes better). You should have what looks like enough to clump together in 2 hands. Be careful too not over work the dough during this next stage. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of ice water onto dough mixture, toss dough with fork, and then repeat, this second time only using 1 tablespoon of water. The dough should be coming together gradually. Now, when you think there is enough ice water sprinkled into dough, gently clump dough together with hands until you have worked dough into a firm enough ball to be lifted out of the bowl onto a lightly floured surface.
Now, once dough in on a lightly floured surface, dust your rolling pin in flour, and gently start to flatten dough. When you’ve just flattened it a bit, turn over onto other side, make sure there is flour on the surface, and then begin rolling again. Roll dough out carefully until it is looks to be bigger than pie dish. Using rolling pin, transfer crust into pie dish, and trim up the edges into whatever way you would like to. Using a fork, poke holes, about 5 times, into the bottom of the crust.
Preheat over to about 180 c. Position your racks so your quiche can bake in the middle.
Next prepare whatever veggies you would like. You must have onions, at least 1 large one. This onion could either be sautéed prior to adding it to the quiche, or added raw. Fill the pie to the top with your veggies, meat or cheese. Cheese is also a must. Here are some ideas for fillings:
- Blue cheese
- Cheddar cheese
- Munster cheese
- Eggplant- (make sure you salt to extract water first)
- Peppers
- Asparagus
- Tomatoes
- Rukola
- Spinach
- Onions (a must!)
- Ham
- Bacon
- Salami
- Leak
- Mushrooms
Next, whisk 12 eggs in a bowl; add about 3 tablespoons water, and keeping whisking until fluffy. Add some crushed black pepper, and perhaps a bit more salt, and pour over your filling.
Bake for around 35 minutes, maybe more. The quiche will rise and look puffy, insert a toothpick and make sure it comes out clean. It should be a little brown on top too!
