THE PERFECT . . .

Quiche

If a quiche is rubbery, it’s because it has been overcooked. The best tip for cooking a quiche is to check it sooner rather than later. It’s not a dish that needs to rise, so it’s not going to flop if you open the oven. So check it after 20 minutes, stick a knife into the centre, and if it comes out clean, it’s cooked. If the knife is eggy, leave it another few minutes, but then check again. Another important thing is to make sure you’re putting cold filling on to your pre-baked shortcrust pastry case. If the filling is hot, it will be more likely to soak into the pastry and make it soggy. You can buy good pre-prepared, pre-cooked shortcrust pastry cases, or pre-prepared raw shortcrust pastry, but if you’re making your own, there are a few things to watch. Always work fast when making pastry and don’t knead it, as any overworking will make it greasy. If using pre-prepared raw or home-made shortcrust pastry, fit it into the flan tin, leave extra hanging over the sides and then chill the whole thing in the fridge before blind-baking. This will help to prevent shrinking. Blind-baking is baking the pastry without the filling. Put a layer of parchment paper covered with raw rice over the pastry to stop it from lifting off the tin. A layer of egg wash over the baked, cooled pastry will create a seal to stop the filling soaking into it. When preparing your quiche filling, gently mix the eggs. Don’t overwhisk them to frothiness. And don’t overfill the quiche with ingredients; they will weigh it down. With the recipe here, if you’d rather leave out the goat’s cheese, you can replace it with 200g (7oz) of smoked salmon. Serves 6.

You will need:

20cm (8in) flan tin of pre-baked-blind shortcrust pastry 200g asparagus 3 eggs 200ml (7fl oz) cream Pinch of ground nutmeg Salt and freshly ground black pepper 150g (5oz) St Tola goat’s cheese 1 lemon, zest and juice 2 banana shallots, finely diced Sprig of chopped tarragon

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160°C, 320°F, Gas 3. Trim the fibrous end off the asparagus and drop in salted water brought to a rolling boil for 40 seconds, then refresh in ice-cold water until cooled, drain and set aside. Mix together the eggs, the cream, the nutmeg and the seasoning. Add the asparagus and goat’s cheese to the egg mix with the lemon juice and zest, the diced banana shallots and the chopped tarragon. Pour everything into a pre-baked pastry case in a flan tin, and put in the preheated oven and test if it’s cooked after 20 minutes. If not, give it another 5 minutes. Place on wire rack to cool for 45 minutes before removing from the flan tin. Serve with some dressed rocket and fresh tomatoes.