Broccoli, Bacon and Mushroom Quiche

Wow, life has been real havoc lately; tending to my new little one and J-man adjusting to his new kindy. I hardly have the time to experiment with any new recipes and feel that everything is due to be done…like post something on my blog. Haha. I keep telling myself, ‘I need to do this already….or do that already….get a haircut, scrub the bathroom floor, empty the pantry of expired stuff, plan for CNY dinner…’ as soon as I have some or little free time to sit down, one would either be crying for feed or the other for meals and sleep.

Fortunately, I found the time to bake this quiche for some friends who came over to visit Sarah. I had initially planned to do a whole proper English tea spread but in the end, a few people came because others were preoccupied with their plans. I was inspired to do quiche having seen some other bloggers making it lately like Kelly and Quay Po. I did quiche before and took a loooong pause after that so it’s time to revisit this dish again.

If you ask me, you can put anything in a quiche. A quiche is basically a frittata or omelette with pie crust. I suppose you can see it in a way that if you take away the crust, you have something of a meal for lunch or dinner but with the crust, it’s very suited for brunch or tea.

I made my crust using a food processor and I always make a bit more so I can keep the excess pastry in the fridge and use it to make another quiche with a different kind of filling.

A quiche is really such a great dish for those times of entertaining when you don’t wish to do a lot of work in the kitchen and you know your guests won’t eat all that much. Goes well with tea or coffee or any hot beverages.

This was also a chance for me to christen my new pie pan with removable bottom. Although I could lift the whole quiche out of the pan to reveal that nice grooved sides of the crust, I couldn’t or rather didn’t know how to remove the bottom piece, so I left it there. Haha. Anyways, when you cut into it, it provides a nice level bottom too.

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BROCCOLI, BACON AND MUSHROOM QUICHE RECIPE

Ingredients; 

Crust;
3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour (for a 24 inch pie pan)
200 gms of frozen unsalted butter, cut into cubes
2 – 3 tablespoons very cold water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
Extra flour for dusting

Filling;
Brown mushrooms, sliced
1 head of broccoli
4 rashers of bacon, sliced.
1 medium onion, chopped
Olive oil
3 eggs
1/4 cup cream or milk
A handful of grated Calico cheese, or use cheddar
Salt (sparingly)
Black pepper
Parsley (for embellishment)

Steps;

1. Sift and mix together the flour, salt and sugar. Place them in the food processor with the cold butter cubes and pulse till you have a texture that represents wet sand.
2. Add the cold water with the processor still churning till the pastry pulls away from the sides of the container.
3. Knead a little with your hands but not too long or too much and shape it into a ball. Cover with cling film and freeze it for like 20 mins.
4. Pre-heat your oven to 180C. Take out the pastry and roll it out to about half a cm thick. Cover the bottom or your pie pan and press it down gently with your hands to level it.
5. Prick the bottom all over with a fork and trim the edges.
6. Pre-bake it for 15 mins.
7. While that’s happening, cut your broccoli head into florets and blanch them in hot, boiling water. Take them out immediately and blanch it in cold water to stop the cooking.
8. Heat some olive oil in a pan and fry the bacon till it’s crisp. Dish it out but leave the bacon fat in the pan. Cook the onions and mushrooms with the bacon fat. Bring back the bacon and broccoli and toss it together at the lat minute.
9. Beat the eggs and cream together. Season with some salt and pepper. Add the cheese. Pour in the broccoli, bacon and mushroom mix into the eggs. Stir.
10. Take out the pie crust and put it on another tray and pour the filling into it.
11. Bake for 30 – 45 mins till the middle is cooked (no egg juice coming out when you press it gently with a knife) and the top has browned.
12. Leave to cool for 10 mins before eating. Sprinkle with parsley.

Enjoy!

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