Savoury Short Crust Pastry with a Quiche Lorraine

Basic Savoury Shortcrust Pastry

When making savoury pastries try and use half the amount of fat to flour e.g. 80g Fat to 160g Flour.

·         170g Plain Flour

·         85g Fat Cubed - (Salted Butter or Lard)

·         5Tbls Chilled Water

Method:

Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl 2 times, (this will aerate the flour for a flaky pastry). Add the fat. Using the tips of your fingers rub in the fat till the mixture resembles small breadcrumbs. Add 1 table spoon of chilled water at a time and using your hand bring the pastry together after each addition, till the pastry starts to bind together and comes away from the sides of the bowl. Shape the dough into a ball and wrap it with cling wrap. Store the wrapped dough in the refrigerator for no less than 30 minutes. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to desired thickness, usually 5 -6mm. NOTE: do not use too much flour on the surface or rolling pin as too much flour will make the pastry tuff.

 

Quiche Lorraine

This is a French classic, and I didn’t dare change the recipe. This is great for a snack at tea time or as a light lunch on its own.

·         1 x Quantity Shortcrust Pastry

·         15ml Olive oil

·         1 x Medium Onion – halved & sliced

·         150g Cubed Ham – (you can add crispy bacon or bacon bits if you like)

·         150g Button Mushrooms – sliced

·         70g Mature Cheddar – grated

·         3 x Large Eggs

·         115ml Fresh Cream

·         20ml Freshly Chopped Italian Parsley

·         Freshly Ground Black Pepper – to taste

 

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180 ͦC. Roll the dough out and lightly grease and flour a loose bottomed quiche tin. Using the rolling pin, lift the pastry and gently let it fall into the quiche tin, make sure the dough is pressed lightly into the corners and the tin is covered completely. Cut away the excess pastry and chill the tin in the fridge for 20 minutes, this will help the pastry not to shrink too much when baking.  Heat a frying pan with the olive oil and fry off the onion and mushrooms for 5 – 10 min till golden, drain on kitchen paper and fry off the ham or bacon. Layer the bottom of the tart with the onions and mushrooms evenly, and then layer over the ham, followed by the grated cheese. In a mixing jug mix together the eggs, pepper, parsley and cream with a fork, pour this over the filling ingredients and bake the quiche for 30 – 40 min until golden and the filling is set. Leave to cool inside the tin before serving.

TIP: Use the same principle and create something that tickles your fancy.