Quiche alla Edyta

A replica of a quiche that I ate at my godmother's house :) Makes me think of summer and the sunny days eating outside :)

You'll need:
puff pastry
1 single chicken breast
sweet paprika (I used Spanish Pimenton which has a distinct smoky flavour)
tarragon
1 broccoli head
greek feta cheese
3 sundried tomatoes in oil
50g gouda cheese
3-4 eggs
100ml milk
salt&pepper
pinch of sugar

1. Cut the chicken breast into small bite-size cubes and fry on a pan, seasoning it with tarragon, (pimenton) paprika, salt & pepper.

2. Separate individual broccoli florets from the broccoli head and boil in hot salted wated together with a pinch of sugar for around 4 minutes. 

3. Roll out puff pastry to fit the baking dish.

4. Add the chicken and broccoili on top as well as feta cheese and sundried tomatoes, both previously cutted into smaller pieces.

5. Mix the eggs together with milk and pour the mixture over the other ingredients of the quiche.

6. Sprinkle with grated gouda cheese on top.

6. Put in the oven pre-set to 200 degrees for 20 minutes, et voila!

Bon appétit!

Spinach and cod mini tartellettes

I have recently moved countries again, so I thought it would be appropriate to begin this new phase in my life with a recipe which is somehow connected to the country I now live in - Belgium. While the country is famous for its chocolates, fries, waffles, mussels and beer, I decided to start with something less conspicuous - a tartellette. At this point you may ask what's the difference between a tart(ellette) and a quiche, but I must admit that I find the distinction a little bit confusing: both pastries can be savoury or sweet, served warm or cold. The distinction appears to be based on the proportion of the custard filling, which suggests that there are no hard line distinction here after all. Today's recipe is based simply on cream filling, so it might fall outside either category technically speaking.

You'll need: (for 3 tartellettes)

ready made puff pastry

100g cod fillet (or other white fish)

one medium onion (finely chopped)

50g fresh spinach baby leaves

around 100ml fat cream

nutmeg (best freshly grated)

salt & pepper

a little bit of oil for frying

1. Cut the fish into small cubes and fry on a warm pan with oil, adding a little bit of salt and pepper as seasoning.

2. Remove the fish from the pan and fry the onion on the same pan. Once the onion is nearly ready, add spinach leaves and cover the pan with a lid for around 2 minutes. Once the leaves have softened, stir the contents of the pan a little bit and transfer onto a plate.

3. Allow the filling to cool down, soaking any liquid from the spinach.

4. In the meantime, cut out circles from puff pastry to fit in the ramekins. They should be around 1cm higher than the edge of the ramekins. Once fitted into the ramekins, make some holes in the pastry and put into an oven pre-heated to around 175 degrees for 3 minutes.

5. Remove from the oven, fill with cod and spinach and cover with cream. Sprinkle with some nutmeg, or better still mix the cream with nutmeg beforehand.

6. Put back into the oven for around 10 minutes, or until the pastry starts to turn golden brown, et voila!

Bon appétit!

Goat cheese and pear quiche

Continuing on the theme of tarts and quiche, this time I propose a vegetarian goat cheese and pear quiche served on a bed of valeriana with a sour-sweet dressing which I think perfectly complements the delicate flavour of the quiche. A nice little starter to feed your appetite.

You'll need (for 8 mini quiche):

a packet of pasta brisée

3 eggs

100ml of cream

1 pear

50g of goat cheese

rosemary

pepper

valeriana

balsamic vinegar

orange flower honey

1. Roll out the dough and cut out circles of about 8cm diameter to fit a ramekin. Cover the ramekins with wax paper (or butter them) before fitting in the dough circles. Put another layer of waxed paper on top and cover it with beans or rice to prevent the dough from growing in the oven. Put in the oven set to 150 degrees for 10 minutes.

2. Peel the pear and cut into fine pieces. Fry with a minimum amount of oil until soft.

3. Similarly, cut the goat cheese into smaller pieces.

4. Mix the eggs with cream. Add rosemary and pepper for taste.

5. Remove the ramekins from the oven, remove the paper from the top. Add pear pieces and pour the eggs and cream mixture over them. Be careful not to over-pour the mixture above the edges of the pasty. Add pieces of cheese on top and put back in the oven for about 15 minutes.

6. Prepare the salad dressing by mixing balsamic vinegar and honey in a 1:1 proportion. Warm both ingredients in a pot until they combine. Cool down before serving.

7. Once the quiche are ready, carefully remove them from the ramekins and put on a bed of valeriana with the dressing, et voila!

Bon appétit!

Salmon, mozarella and tomatoes tart

Yet another proposition for a tart. This time with ready made pastry to save some time. My previous tart ideas can be found here. It can be served both hot and cold.

You'll need:
puff pie pastry
4 eggs
100ml cream
6 mozarella slices
100g of smoked salmon
3 tomatoes
dill
white pepper

1. Butter a flan dish, roll out the pastry and fit into the dish. Make some holes in the dough with a fork, cover with oven paper and put rice or beans on top so that the pastry does not grow when put in the oven.
2. Put in the oven set to 175 degrees for 10 minutes.
3. Pour hot water over the tomatoes and remove the skin. To make the task easier make two small perpendicular cuts on the bottom of each tomato.
4. Cut the tomatoes into small pieces, slice the salmon and mozarella.
5. Chop some dill.
6. Break the eggs and put in a bowl. Add cream and stir vigorously with a fork.
7. Add the dill and some pepper to the mixture and stir again.
8. Remove the pastry from the oven. Remove the paper with the beans/rice.
9.  Put the tomatoes on top of the dough. Pour the eggs and cream mixture all over them.
10. Put the  mozarella and salmon slices on top and put back in the oven for around 15 minutes or until the egg mixture sets, et voila!.

Bon appétit!

PS. Based on a recipe by Pascal, slightly amended.

A variation on countryside style savoury tart

Remember my Countryside style savoury tart? Like I said tarts come in all shapes and sizes... This one is almost identical, but this time I added mushrooms and omitted olives and parsley.

Bon appétit!

Countryside style savoury tart

Tarts come in all different forms. They can be both savoury and sweet. The only limit is one's imagination really. They can be eaten both hot and cold. You could prepare one to eat as a lunchtime snack or as a dinner course. It takes some time to make one (mostly because of the time it has to spend in the oven), but once done you can eat it over a few days. Of course, provided you can resist eating it all at once!

This one has a very classic taste. It has bacon, two types of onion, olives, cherry tomatoes and herbs in the filling.

You'll need:
5 eggs
4 spoonfulls of sour cream
250g of flour
150g of butter/margarine
1 medium white onion
1 medium red onion
250g (un)smoked bacon
12 cherry tomatoes
30/40 black olives
some freshly grated gouda
dried rosemary
dried thyme
fresh parsley

Pastry making:
You need to start by preparing your pastry dough. Mix flour with butter and one egg. It will need some kneading. When ready put it in the fridge for an hour. After that roll it out and fit into a flan dish. Don't forget to butter the dish first, otherwise the dough might stick to it. Cut the edges. Cover with foil  and put some dried beans or rice on top. This is to prevent the pastry from growing when put in the oven. Put in the oven set for 180 degrees for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes.

Filling:
When the pastry is in the oven you have time to prapere your filling.
1. Start by cutting the bacon into thin slices and chopping the onions.
2. Fry them all. I did it separetely, but you could mix them together if you wish.
3. Cut the tomatoes into halves, do the same with olives.
4. Break the remaining four eggs and stir them vigourously with a fork. Add cream and stir again. Then proceed to add the herbs into the mixture (parsley needs chopping beforehand).

Remove the pastry bottom from the oven. Spread grated cheese on it. Then put bacon, onions and olives on top.

Now pour the egg and cream mixture evenly over it. Put the tomatoes on top. It's ready to go into the oven again. The whole thing will be ready when the egg filling turns solid and golden brown. It might take around 30-40 minutes.

et voila!

Bon appétit!