Saturday, July 14, 2007

Sun-Dried Tomato, Goat's Cheese and Broccoli Quiche


Allow me to boast a bit, as I have made the most exquisite quiche ever. I wanted to make something lovely to celebrate "la fête nationale" or Bastille Day and I was sort of in the mood for the creamy smoothness of a quiche. After consulting a few of my cookbooks, I decided to do a little experimenting and try something different. You probably noticed from my last posts that I am slightly addicted to strawberries... well, the same goes for sun-dried tomatoes. I love the way they lift the flavor of almost any dish and being artistically inclined, I am very partial to their deep, burgundy color. Goat's cheese always seems to work well with these little guys as does broccoli, so I came up with a gorgeous recipe using these three main ingredients. Just as I expected, the flavors came together in perfect harmony and each bite had that certain something that I associate with a winning dish. Funny how I never thought of adding sun-dried tomatoes to my quiche!

Here's the recipe:

Sun- Dried Tomato, Goat's Cheese and Broccoli Quiche

For the pastry:

*200g flour

*125g cold butter cut into small cubes
*1/2 tsp salt

*one beaten egg

*iced water, if needed


Filling:

*150g
chèvre (soft goat's cheese)
*3 eggs

*250ml single cream

*1 1/2 tbsp fresh thyme

*300g broccoli florets

*100g sun-dried tomatoes, in strips

*salt and pepper to taste


Mix flour with butter and salt in processor at low speed for about 20 seconds until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add beaten egg and pulse until dough comes together into a ball. If the dough seems dry, add a drop or two of iced water. Shape the dough into a disk and refrigerate 4o minutes wrapped in cling film. Let it sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before using it.


Preheat oven to 180C and grease a 25cm quiche pan with a little olive oil. Blanch broccoli in boiling water for two minutes, run under cold water and set aside. Roll out your dough on a floured surface and drape over quiche pan pressing it up against the edges. Prick the dough with a fork all over its surface and bake for about 8 minutes. Meanwhile beat cream, eggs, cheese, thyme
, salt and pepper. Fold in sun-dried tomatoes and broccoli florets. Pour mix in prepared quiche pan and bake for 40 minutes. Allow it to rest in the oven for an extra five minutes before serving. Serve with a simple green salad and a vinaigrette made with olive oil, herb vinegar, grainy mustard and a pinch of salt.


4 comments:

Nora B. said...

Paola, this quiche looks and sounds delicious. It's funny that I posted about a quiche a few days ago too. :-)

Paola Westbeek said...

Hi Nora,

Yes! It was SO good! I think things are working better when I just go with my cooking instincts and forget the recipes!

I saw your quiche, btw and it looked awesome! Especially the idea for the whole wheat crust. I love pumpkin but I have to disguise it in all sorts of interesting ways in order for Hans to eat it. I still use it though...bad wife that I am. ;)

paola

Neil Scott said...

My wife just made this quiche based on your recipe and it was amazing!

Neil

Neil Scott said...

My wife just made this quiche based on your recipe and it was amazing! Thank you.

Neil