Spinach, bacon and pea quiche
Signed by: Edd Kimber
Prep work
120min
Edd Kimber
UK
A delightful spring quiche
To me, Quiche is one of those classic springtime dishes, especially when filled with lots of vegetables and this recipe uses plenty of spinach and peas the give a fresh flavour, perfectly complemented with cheese and bacon. If you want to make the dish with a different filling, keep the custard ingredients the same and try and keep the amount of filling roughly the same so that the quiche bakes in the same way.
Ingredients
- - shortcrust pastry
- 280 g plain flour
- Pinch of salt
- 140 g unsalted butter, chilled and diced
- 6-8 tbsp ice cold water
- 1 large egg yolk
- - filling
- 100 ml double cream
- 100 ml whole milk
- 4 large eggs
- 50 g cheddar cheese, grated
- 150 g cubed pancetta or lardons, cooked until crisp
- 150 g spinach, wilted and roughly chopped
- 50 g peas, frozen or fresh
To make the shortcrust pastry, place the flour and salt into the bowl of the Artisan Food Processor and pulse to combine. Add the diced butter and pulse until the butter is in small pieces, no bigger than a small pea. Add 6 tbsp of ice cold water and pulse to combine. At this point check the consistency of the dough. If you can squeeze some of the dough together and it holds its shape then it is ready, if it crumbles add the remaining water and pulse to combine. The benefits of using the Food Processor are that it helps keep the butter cold which means a lighter flakier pastry, warm hands can melt the butter making the finished product a little tougher.
Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and gently bring together into a uniform dough. Press into a flat disc and refrigerate for about an hour before using.
To make the filling, preheat the KitchenAid Twelix Oven to 190°C on the "Forced Air" setting and line a baking tray with parchment paper. Place the cream, milk and eggs into a large bowl and whisk together to combine. Add all the remaining ingredients, except the peas and stir together the combine, seasoning with a little salt and pepper.
Once the pastry has chilled roll out on a lightly floured work surface into a round large enough to line a loose bottomed 9-inch tart tin. Gently drape the pastry into the tart tin and carefully press into the pan, pressing into the corners so the pastry sits flush. Trim off the excess and chill the pastry case in the freezer for 15 minutes. Line the chilled pastry case with parchment paper and fill with baking beans or rice and bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes before removing the beans and the parchment and baking for a further 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove the tart shell from the oven and reduce the temperature to 170°C.
Brush the inside of the pastry case with the egg yolk and place back into the oven for a couple of minutes to seal. The egg yolk creates a barrier so that the filling doesn’t make the pastry soggy. Pour the filling into the tart shell and sprinkle with the peas. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the custard has just set and is very lightly browned around the edges. Allow to cool fully before serving. Best served on the day made.