Cheese & Tomato Quiche

Quiche, pronounced as 'Keesh' is a complete meal on its own as well as a versatile dish, which could be your late weekend breakfast or brunch. Also you can enjoy it as lunch or at dinner party with friends. It is made of a rich buttery and flaky crust with a savoury custard filling with your choice of toppings and flavors. It is a part of French cuisine but is also popular in other countries. 

Preparation time for crust: 40 minutes

Preparation time for filling: 20 minutes

Baking time: 30 minutes

Serves 4 or 5

To make the crust

Ingredients for the crust:

• 1 1/2 cup plain flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 100 gms of cold butter (cut into cubes)
• 1/2 cup ice water
• 30 cm quiche pan (loose bottom)

Method:

1) Mix plain flour and salt well in a large mixing bowl. Add cold butter cubes and start mixing gently with your finger tips until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs.

                                                                                     

2) Now slowly add 1/2 cup chilled water and form into a soft smooth dough. Do not knead the dough too much, stop when everything comes together as one single mass. (the dough can also be prepared in a chopper as shown in the picture using the 'pulse' button)

3)Wrap the dough in a cling wrap sheet and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

4) Remove from the refrigerator and leave to rest at room temperature for few minutes.

5) Place a large cling wrap sheet on the table and place the dough on it. Roll out the dough into a thin disc, a little bigger than the of the size of the quiche pan.

6) Place the rolled out disc on the quiche pan by lifting the cling wrap. (It becomes easier to handle the dough sheet with cling wrap or else it can break while lifting )

7) Cover the sides of the quiche pan with the dough evenly, remove any excess of it and prick the base with the fork so that the dough does not rise while baking. Place the prepared quiche pan in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.

  

  

8) Preheat oven to 200 deg C. Cover the chilled quiche tin and the dough with foil paper and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and again bake for another 10 minutes or till the crust is light golden.

To make the filling (custard)

Ingredients:

For custard (whisk together to smooth mixture)

• 1 cup full cream milk
• 1/2 cup cream
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 tsp black pepper powder
• Salt

                                                                            

For topping

• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese or cheese slices or cheese triangles
• 1 large tomato sliced
• 1 cup cooked meat of your choice (sausage, tikka pieces, boiled, cooked mince)
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley or chopped coriander leaves
• 1 tbsp chili flakes
• 1 tbsp black pepper powder
• 1 tbsp dried oregano

Method:

1) Preheat oven to 180 deg C. Take the baked quiche crust and place a layer of sliced tomatoes.

2) Then place a layer of cheese and cooked meat evenly spread along with all other topping ingredients.

3) Finally pour over the whisked custard (cream, milk & eggs mixture) over the quiche.

4) Bake the quiche for 30 minutes. To check if the quiche is cooked, insert a knife in the center and it should come out clean.

5) Let the quiche cool for about 10 to 15 minutes and then carefully loosen the bottom of the pan.
Cut into triangles and serve hot.