I am so happy with my first attempt to bake a quiche came perfectly well and most essentially, delicious. I was given some silver beet just the other day and thought it s a good idea to bake a quiche with it. I had earlier bought a tart dish and intended to bake a quiche and look ….  I’ve done it easily and beautifully in my own way. This recipe was supposed to be called an “impossible quiche” which didn’t require any short crust pastry. However I twisted a little and also added on a short crust base to this quiche.

Ingredients(serves 4-6)

Shortcrust pastry

• 200g plain flour, sifted
• 100g chilled butter(cubed)
• 1/2 – 1 egg, beaten

Filling

• 1/2  cup plain flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tsp paprika
• salt and pepper

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 4 shallots, chopped
• 4 slices ham( 125g ) chopped
• 2 large leaves silver beet( remove the stem ) , parboil till wilted, drained and chopped(you can use spinach)
• 1 cup shredded cheese

Shortcrust pastry: Put the flour, butter and a pinch of salt in a food processor and process briefly. Add half of the beaten egg and continue to process. (you might add a little more egg, but not too much as the mixture should be just moist enough to come together)

Flatten out the ball of dough until it is about 2cm thick, cling wrapped and place it in the fridge and rest it for 30 minutes.

Line a 25cm tart tin with the shortcrust pastry and cover the base with baking parchment. Fill the tin with baking beans and bake blind for 10-15 minutes. Remove the beans and parchment for the last 5 minutes of baking for a golden crust.

Method

1. Add oil in pan and saute shallots and ham till onions turn soft. Leave aside to cool.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, plain four, milk, paprika, salt and pepper to a smooth batter. Add in the ham mixture, silver beet, cheese and give a good stir to combine.
3. Spoon the mixture over the prepared shortcrust pastry and spread out evenly.
4. Bake quiche in preheated oven 180’C for 35-40 minutes until crust is golden brown and just set in the centre. Viola! Happy Day!

Notes: Alternatively, you can omit the shortcrust pastry. Simply pour the filling into a greased 25cm dish and bake in the oven.