HARVEST FEAST ROAST VEGGIE QUICHE

- METHOD -

To prepare the roast veggies:

Line two baking sheets with baking paper. Pour oil over veggies and toss to ensure everything is coated. Dust veggies with three teaspoons of Cape Herb & Spice Roast Veggie seasoning. Roast veggies in a pre-heated 200˚C oven for 20-25 minutes until done­. Remove and allow veggies to cool, then cut onion quarters into small dice.

To make the pastry:

Place the flour, pinch of salt and butter in a food processor and pulse until the butter disappears and the mixture start looking like crumbs. Add the egg and water and pulse until the pastry starts to come together. Tumble pastry out onto a large sheet of wax paper and use your hands to press dough together into a ball. Lightly flour a rolling pin and roll the pastry out – aim for as thin as possible, about 5mm thick. Place the wax sheet with the pastry in the fridge for half an hour.

Place a baking sheet in your oven and heat your oven to 200˚C. Once the oven is at temperature, remove the pastry from the fridge. Spray a 22cm (w) x 7cm (d) spring-form cake tin with non-stick cooking spray. Gently lift the wax paper with pastry and turn it upside down over cake tin. Remove wax paper and ease the pastry into the cake tin, pressing down gently in the corners to ensure there are no air bubbles. (This pastry is very malleable, so if there is a bare spot or tear in the pastry, simple push it closed or tear off a bit of pastry where you have too much and patch any gap. Use scissors to trim the pastry down neatly protruding 1cm above the edge of the cake tin. (Tip: keep the leftover pastry trimmings wrapped airtight in some wax paper. Should you need to patch a gap that forms during the blind baking stage, you’ll have pastry to do so.)

Cut a piece of baking paper large enough to fit the bottom and sides of the tin and place on the pastry. Fill the pastry case with dried beans or rice. (NB: For blind baking one would normally fill the entire pastry case with baking beans or rice, but as this tin is 7cm deep it requires a lot of beans or rice. You could get away with just a 3cm layer of beans or rice. There will be a slight distortion of the pastry walls as a result, but if you like a rustic look, that’s just fine. If you want chef-like perfection for the entire pastry case, you’ll need to fill it with baking beans or rice.)

Place the cake tin on the heated baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Then remove the baking beans or rice and baking paper and bake the naked pastry case for a further five minutes.

To assemble the filling:

Pre-heat your oven to 190˚C and place a baking sheet in the oven before you assemble your quiche filling.

Once the oven is at temperature, whisk together the cream, milk, crème fraiche and eggs. Stir in the parmesan or pecorino and the salt and pepper.  Spoon half of the veggies into the pastry case and cover with the egg mix. Spoon the rest of the veggies into the case. Pull the oven shelf out halfway and place the cake tin on the baking sheet. Now add the rest of the egg mix, filling the pastry case to the brim. Gently push the oven rack back. Bake for 50-70 minutes until the filling is set but still has a slight wobble in the middle. Ovens differ, so start checking on it after 40 minutes.

Serve this quiche slightly warm with a green salad.

Recipe concept & photography by Lizet Hartley.

Lizet Hartley is a freelance stills and reel food stylist, food photographer and recipe developer. In her spare time she – rather predictably – cooks. Get more of her recipes on her blog at http://www.melkkos-merlot.co.za