Sunday 3 June 2012

Goats Cheese, Ham & Red Onion Quiche

Ingredients:

Pastry: 
180g plain flour (6 ozs.approx.)
100g (3.1/2 ozs) cold unsalted butter - cubed
1-2 tsps. dried thyme
1 egg yolk
chilled water - approx. 1 tbl.

Filling:
1 large red onion - peeled, halved and sliced 
olive oil and knob of butter
thin slices of cooked ham (or bought pre-packed)
block of goats cheese - sliced fairly thinly .... (I used St. Helen's Farm Goats Cheese)
3 eggs
9fl.ozs (approx.) Sour Cream
approx. 1 tbl.or 2 of  grated parmesan (optional)
salt and pepper

Preheat Oven: 180 deg. C - 350 deg.F - Gas 4
Make up your pastry and leave to chill, covered with klingfilm,  for 20 mins to 1/2 hr. 
Then roll out thinly on a floured surface, and line one large or a couple of small buttered tins/dishes.  Trim*
Bake blind for at least 15 mins. using scrunched up foil and baking beans or any hard pulses on top of foil.
This stops the pastry rising.
Remove the foil and pulses and bake for another 5 mins, until the base looks 'dry' and not uncooked.

for the filling
1. Saute the sliced onion in hot oil and butter, until softened.  Remove from heat.
2. Mix the sour cream, parmesan and eggs together, season lightly. 
3. Layer the onions, sliced ham, and slices of goats cheese inside the pastry case
4. Pour over the sour cream and eggs. Tap the tin lightly down to make sure the 'custard' has settled into all the nooks and crannies :)

Bake until the top is becoming golden and the savoury custard is set.
This is lovely served warm, but can also be eaten cold.

forgot to take a photo before we tucked in!
Luckily I managed to have a spare!

* you can either trim before or after baking.
If you trim the pastry before it's baked, it does tend to shrink a little.


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