Cheese, Onion and Potato Quiche with a Wild Rice Salad - Recipe

This fabulous quiche recipe is by Tom Kerridge

One of my favourite websites is BBC Good Food, I love reading the constructive comments from those who have made the recipes.  The recipe is by Tom Kerridge and apparently he makes this for his pub restaurant. Everyone said that there was too much mixture for one quiche and they had lot's left over. One commenter said how she adapted the recipe to give enough filling with none left over. I followed her suggestion and it has worked out brilliantly.  To make the full quantity you will need a deep quiche tin approximately 5cm deep.

It's a fabulous quiche, the pastry is easy to make and gloriously crisp to eat.  There is a layer of cooked new potatoes, spring onions and Montgomery Cheddar cheese cooked in a creamy custard layer.

No soggy bottom here!

I used the bottom heat setting to bake my pastry which gives a lovely crisp pastry base - the custard layer is also cooked very gently on a low setting using bottom heat to give a luxurious velvety custard.

Hubby said this is the best quiche he has ever eaten and people on the BBC Good Food website have said it's their favourite too.

Adapted recipe

225g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
140g cold butter, diced
1 tsp icing sugar
1 egg yolk
For the filling:
250g new potatoes, no need to peel, cooked and sliced
1 bunch spring onions, sliced
125g Montgomery cheddar, diced
2 eggs
300ml double cream

You will need:  23cm loose base fluted tin 2.5cm deep

1. Sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a large bowl. Add the butter and rub in until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the icing sugar, egg yolk and 3 tbsp cold water, to form a firm dough. Wrap well in cling film and rest for 20 minutes in the fridge.
2. Preheat the oven to 200ºC.  Roll out the pastry and line the tart tin. Cover with baking parchment and fill with baking beans. Cook for 20 minutes, then remove the paper and beans. Brush the pastry base with beaten egg and cook for 5-10 minutes more until the tart case is pale.
3. Turn the oven down to 160ºC. Place a layer of cooked potatoes on the base of the tart, scatter over the spring onions and cheddar. Whisk together the eggs and cream, season. Pour into the tart case and cook for 40-45 mins or until just set. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
Original recipe

I served a Wild Rice Salad with the quiche........the glass bowl is by Arcoroc they are amazing and great multitaskers. I purchased a set of different sizes from Divertimenti, they are light weight, nest inside each other, don't scratch, freezer, dishwasher and microwave safe and it's free postage too. Cons are they are quite shallow so absolutely no good for some whisking tasks and they aren't oven proof(but this isn't an issue with me).

225g wild rice
850ml water
1 red and 1 yellow pepper, sliced into strips
cucumber sliced lengthways
1 orange, peeled, pith removed and segmented
A handful of cherry tomatoes quartered
1 red onion finely sliced
handful of chopped parsley
Dressing:
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
seasoning to taste

1. Pour the water into a large pan, bring to a boil.  Stir, cover and simmer for 40 minutes until tender.  Drain and cool. Or use a microwave rice steamer and cook for approximately 30 minutes.
2. Add the dressing ingredients to a basin and whisk together.  Pour onto the cooled rice.
3. Mix the peppers, orange, tomatoes, red onion and parsley into the rice mixture.
4. Store in the fridge until needed.

Smoked Haddock and Leek Risotto

I'm not one for take out meals but on occasions I feel lazy, can't be bothered, can't get into the zone and can't even think what to make. On these occasions I always feel guilty, but then I do have a husband to feed! Left to me it would be a plate of leaves and a spray of balsamic vinegar, but then as I said before, I do have a husband to feed, and I don't think he would be very impressed with a plate of leaves.

For all the above occasions risotto saves the day. Risotto fills you up and as long as you have some arborio rice, a glass of white wine and some chicken stock you can make a substantial meal. Hopefully, you will have some Parmesan cheese to grate over the risotto too.

Risotto isn't the prettiest of meals but taste wise it takes some beating. Risotto costs less than a take out, takes less time than if you have to fetch it and won't hurt your wallet either.

I have a clever kitchen gadget which makes mine in 25 minutes from start to finish, a present from my husband, and so on lazy days and can't be bothered days it's risotto for us.

This delicious recipe is from Olive Magazine and can be found on the BBC GoodFood website.

A few more lazy day risotto's:

Lemon Thyme, Prosciutto, Pecorino and Goat's Cheese Risotto
Porcini and Spinach Risotto
Nigel Slater's Leek Risotto with Parmesan Crisps

SPATCHCOCK CHICKEN WITH GREMOLATA

On Sunday we braved the cold, but sunny weather and had a barbeque, a silly thing to do I know. It was too cold outside for moi but my husband, who seems to be an all weather person, set about cooking the barbeque with a smile but I did notice later on this had turned into a grimace (I think he was feeling the cold and had barbeque regret!). The rewards were high though, a beautifully cooked barbeque chicken, which is impossible to replicate in the oven.

It is very easy to spatchcock a chicken and here are the instructions. Sometimes this surgical procedure on the poor chicken is also called butterflied chicken. You may also see this recipe come under the recipe title of chicken under a brick. You don't have to use the bricks (which in fact we didn't because we forgot), but it does keep the chicken flat and you then have better contact with the cooking surface. The recipe can also be made with spatchcocked poussins (but I/we just couldn't!).

This wonderful, tasty and aromatic chicken was marinated overnight. A wild rice and pepper salad, together with lots of vegetables cooked on the barbeque made a perfect meal.

The chicken is very easy, with only a few ingredients for the marinade.

You will need:

A medium spatchcock chicken, 1 chopped garlic clove, juice of 2 lemons, pepper, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary.

1. Mix together the rosemary, fennel seeds, olive oil, garlic clove, juice of 2 lemons and seasoning.
2. Put the spatchcocked chicken into a ziplock bag together with the lemon shells, pour over the marinade. Place the bag into a large bowl.
3. Chill in the fridge overnight, if possible.
4. Pat the chicken dry, drizzle with olive oil and season. Put skin side down on the barbecue.
5. If you wish, wrap a brick in foil to weigh down the chicken and cook for 30 minutes on medium heat.
6. Turn the chicken over and cook for another 30 minutes weighed down with the foil covered brick. Check the chicken is cooked through and leave to rest.

Gremolata

You will need:

Zest of 1 lemon, 1 chopped clove garlic, large bunch of chopped parsley.

1. Sprinkle over the cooked chicken.

WILD RICE AND PEPPER SALAD


You will need:

½ a finely sliced red onion, 150 g wild rice, 2 roasted and sliced peppers (or from a jar), 100g crumbled goat's cheese, handful of toasted pine nuts, small bunch chopped mint, 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons olive oil.

1. Put the onion in a bowl, season and toss with the red wine vinegar and olive oil, leave to marinate and soften.
2. Cook the wild rice in boiling water for about 25 minutes, drain and rinse under cold water, drain again. Toss with the onion and dressing.
3. Mix the red peppers, goats' cheese, pine nuts and chopped mint through the rice mixture.

VANILLA RICE PUDDING WITH BLACKBERRIES AND PLUMS

Can I tempt you? Forget school rice pudding - this is a classic with a twist.

Half fat creme fraiche is stirred into the cooked rice pudding for extra richness. The original recipe uses full fat milk to cook the rice, it's January and we are supposed to be trying to count calories this month, perhaps it's a good idea to use semi-skimmed milk.

The stewed fruit cuts through the richness of the rice pudding and if you decide the rice pudding is not for you, the plums and blackberries are a wonderful combination of flavours and you can enjoy these instead. Frozen blackberries work perfectly.

Serves: 6

250g caster sugar, 6 ripe halved and stoned plums, 250g blackberries, 1.5 litres full fat milk, 1 vanilla pod (split lengthwise), 200g washed pudding rice, 100ml half fat creme fraiche, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Pour 100g of the sugar into a pan with 300ml water and bring to the boil. When the syrup is boiling, add the plums. Place a piece of greaseproof paper and a small plate on top of the plums to keep them submerged and simmer for about 5 minutes,until they are cooked. Remove the pan from the heat.

2. Remove the plums from the hot syrup and add the blackberries. Remove after 1 minute and allow the syrup to cool, then return all the fruit to the syrup.

3. Boil the milk and vanilla pod in a heavy based pan. Add the rice to the milk in a steady stream. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring frequently. When the rice is tender,remove the vanilla pod and scrape the seeds into the rice. Stir in the remaining sugar, add the creme fraiche and vanilla extract. Serve with the fruit and some of the poaching syrup.

STUFFED BABY SQUASH

I couldn't resist cooking this on my cedar wood baking plank to give just a hint of smokiness to the squash.

A small whole baby squash is a meal in itself and all you need for accompaniments are some sun-dried tomato bread and a spicy tomato sauce.

Serves: 4

You will need: 4 small squash about 350g each, 200g mixed wild and basmati rice, 60ml chilli and garlic oil, 150g grated Gruyere cheese.

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5. Pierce the squash in several places with the tip of a knife. Place the squash on a baking tray or oven plank and bake for 30 minutes or until the squash are tender. Leave to one side until cool enough to handle.
2. Cook the rice in salted, boiling water for 12 minutes or until tender, drain. Slice a lid off the top of each squash and scoop out and discard the seeds, also scoop out and chop the flesh.
3. Heat the chilli and garlic oil in a frying pan and cook the chopped squash for 5 minutes. ( Or, if using, transfer to the oven baking plank for extra smokiness and cook in the oven for a few minutes).
4. Reserve 4 tablespoons of the cheese and add the remainder to the pan along with the cooked rice, season. Mix well.
5. Pile the mixture into the squash shells and place in an ovenproof dish (or return to the oven baking plank). Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bake for 20 minutes.

NIGEL SLATERS' LEEK RISOTTO WITH PARMESAN CRISPS

I could have told you I grew the leeks myself, I could have said I bought them from the Farmers Market, I could even have said, they were in my box scheme delivery. Alas, none of the above would have been true.

I know you are all going to be disappointed with me now, but they were out of a plastic see-through bag bought from the local supermarket. These leeks were left over from the Leek and Gruyere Quiche in my previous posting. I've let you down, I've let myself down and most of all I have let Nigel down - lets hope he will forgive a fellow West Midlander.

I preplanned the quiche and then forgot to buy the leeks and so had to settle for non-squeaky leeks. I could have made something else, but I had promised my husband I would make quiche, ran out of time and had to settle for the see-through bag!!!

If you can get crisp, bright, fresh leeks, then this simple recipe will taste even better, because it totally relies on the quality of the ingredients, that said, my risotto didn't disappoint but would have been even better, if only I had bought wonderful leeks....................'nough said about those leeks now.

The Parmesan crisps were tablespoons of grated Parmesan placed in a non stick pan and cooked until crisp. They were very moreish and one each just isn't enough - I would definitely make more.

The recipe is from Nigel Slaters new BBC programme Simple Suppers. It's great to have someone on TV who is giving the home cook simple, realistic, achievable and furthermore, delicious recipes. Nigel Slater never disappoints the home cook and he makes cooking stress free and enjoyable.

If you take a peek at his new cookery book you will find he grills some pancetta and adds this to the risotto at the end of the cooking time, but the above recipe is part of his DigIn series of programmes, which is obviously based on growing and eating your own veg!


Yesterday I was fortunate enough to be given some homegrown leeks! I know that I have missed the moment with the above recipe but I think I have now redeemed myself to you all.............