Mixed Vegetable Flan (Quiche)
Mixed Vegetable Flan (Quiche)
Mamta Gupta
This is an easy dish to make, especially if you use ready-made pastry. You can use any vegetables you like, see notes. You can make it round, an oblong, hexagonal or any other shape you prefer.
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the pastry:
175 gm. plain flour (maida)
A pinch of salt
75 gm. butter or margarine
Cold water to knead
For the filling:
2 tbsp. olive oil or a mix of butter and olive oil
1 onion, thickly sliced
A handful of mushrooms, thickly sliced
A handful of cherry tomatoes or salad tomatoes, sliced
A handful of broccoli florets, broken/cut into small portions
250 gm. mature cheddar, grated. Parmesan or other cheese (see notes) of choice can also be added.
250 ml. milk or fresh single cream/Crème fraîche
5 standard or 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
Salt
A good sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper
Salt to taste
1/4-1/2 tsp. chilli flakes or a couple of green chillies, chopped (optional)
1 tsp. chopped fresh herb of choice like coriander, thyme, marjoram, basil or chopped chives
8-9 inch flan dish (a flan dish is a round oven proof dish with raised edges)
Instructions
Pastry
Sift flour in a largish bowl, add a pinch of salt and the butter. Mix with your fingers or in a food processor, until it looks like breadcrumbs.
Add a little cold water at a time and make firm dough. Be careful, it does not need a lot of water. Dough can also be made in a food processor.
Cover with a cling film and leave in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Making the Quiche
Heat oil in a pan and lightly fry all vegetables together. They should still be crunchy at the end of frying. Keep aside. Vegetables do not have to be fried, you can use them raw.
Dust the kitchen table or rolling board with flour and roll out the pastry into a 25 cm. or 10 inch diameter circle, about 4-5 mm. thick. Lift it off by gently rolling it onto the rolling pin. Now unroll it onto a buttered flan dish. Press gently to fit into the corners.
Cover with cling film and leave in the freezer/fridge again for 25-30 minutes. This stops shrinkage during baking.
Preheat the oven to 190C or 375F or Gas mark 5.
Remove the pastry case from the fridge.
Place a sheet of grease proof paper or aluminium foil to cover the pastry. Now fill with baking beans (not baked beans)! This is to stop it from ballooning during baking. You can press it with another flan dish that is slightly smaller and fits inside the main dish. Or you can prick it all over with a fork, this will also stop it rising in the centre
Bake blind (without any filling) for approximately 20 minutes, until it is set and lightly crisp.
Remove the foil roll/baking beans and baking paper and return to the oven for another five minutes, so that the inside corners are also cooked well. Take it out.
Reduce the temperature of the oven to 160C/325F/Gas Mark 3.
Spread vegetables evenly over the pastry case.
Sprinkle with cheese.
Place eggs and milk, salt and pepper in a bowl, along with and any herbs and spice you are using.
Beat lightly and pour over the vegetables and cheese.
Now trim the edges of the pastry with a sharp knife. This late trimming stops the pastry from shrinking. You can leave the edges untrimmed, giving it a more rustic look.
Bake for 30-35 minutes in the centre of the oven, until just set.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before serving. It will set further.
Serve at room temperature or hot with salad of choice.
Notes
You can use different types of cheeses, like Gruyère, Parmesan and cheddar mix, a mix of cheddar and a blue cheese like Stilton.
Use other vegetables like very thinly sliced courgettes/aubergines or red peppers and caramelised onions or mushroom and corn kernels or peas or lightly boiled asparagus tips.
Add Ham, cooked bacon and or other cold cuts of meat, left over roast chicken pieces.
Add a few peeled prawns or a few pieces of fish like salmon, instead of bacon.
Add a few chopped green chillies or coarsely ground red chillies.
