Easy quiche ideas

As you may have gathered by now, I'm not a great one for making my own pastry. Instead, I've become adept at using the ready rolled variety available in the supermarket fridges and if you get a good brand, you can't go wrong. Here's a quick and easy way to make quiche with a store bought shortcrust pastry. Perfect for those alfresco summer lunches.

First of all, you need to blind bake the pastry base in your tin to provide a firm and crisp bottom which won't go soggy when you put the wet filling into it. I use a 20cm sandwich cake tin to make my quiche which not only gives a deep filling but is also easy to turn out as the tin has a loose bottom.

Line it carefully with the pastry sheet - you may need to roll it out a bit thinner to fit the size of your tin - and press it firmly against the base and the sides. Trim off the excess with a knife, prick the base all over with a fork and place it in the freezer for about half an hour. Preheat the oven to 190ºC and place a baking tray into the oven.

Take the tart case out of the freezer and put a sheet of greaseproof paper into the middle, making sure it goes to the edges. Fill with ceramic baking beans (or dried pulses or rice), place on the preheated tray and bake for 15 minutes. When the time is up, take it out of the oven, remove the greaseproof paper and baking beans and brush the base with a little beaten egg (use a bit from the filling). Return to the oven for 8-10 minutes or until the bottom is golden. Allow to cool slightly before filling.

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If you're filling the tart straight away, reduce the oven to 180ºC. Once you've added your filling, bake for about 35-40 minutes or until it looks set. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for about 10 minutes before you take it out of the tin. If you're using a tin with a removeable bottom, the easiest way to do this is to place it onto a small bowl (or tin of baked beans!) and carefully push the sides of the tin down.

Fillings -

Do experiment but remember that most of the ingredients will need to be cooked ahead of time and before you add the egg and cream mixture. Here's a few ideas ...

Quiche Lorraine, the traditional filling of crisp streaky bacon (cooked beforehand) and grated gruyere cheese. You’ll also need 2 large eggs and 250ml double cream whisked together with a little black pepper (no need for salt). Simply put the bacon and cheese into the tart case and pour over the egg mixture.

Ham and cheese, again with 2 large eggs, 250ml double cream, salt and pepper.

Mediterranean roasted vegetables - a combination of colourful peppers, courgettes, red onion and cherry tomatoes, chopped small and roasted in a hot oven for about 20 minutes. Once they're cool, put into the cooked tart case, pour over the egg mixture (2 large eggs and 200ml double cream) and sprinkle some grated parmesan or feta cheese on top.

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Mushroom - a mixture of open cap and chestnut mushrooms, a couple of shallots, 2 large eggs, 250ml double cream, some thyme, salt and pepper. Saute the mushrooms, shallots and thyme beforehand (this gets the moisture out of the mushrooms), tip into your cooked quiche base, add the egg mixture and sprinkle with grated cheddar or parmesan cheese.

Smoked salmon and asparagus - 200g of smoked salmon and 5-6 asparagus spears (woody ends snapped off and boiled for 5 minutes). You'll also need 2 large eggs and 200ml crème fraiche whisked together with a teaspoon of dried dill. You can add some black pepper but no salt as the salmon will be salty enough. Once you’ve filled the tart case, sprinkle some grated parmesan cheese on top.

Fresh salmon - Wrap 2-3 skinless salmon fillets in tin foil, add a splash of white wine, salt and pepper and cook in a 180ºC oven for 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool and flake into your tart case. Whisk together 2 large eggs, 200ml double cream and a teaspoon of dried dill and pour over the salmon. Top with grated parmesan cheese as above.

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Vanilla and lemon cake

I found this lemon cake recipe in my mother's book. I don't remember her ever making it but she must have meant to, one day. It's slightly different from a lemon drizzle cake as it uses ground almonds and it is topped with a creamy icing made with mascarpone and lemon curd. Looking at the ingredients, I think this came from a supermarket magazine! It's a good one for the summer months ...

200g unsalted butter

200g caster sugar

grated zest of 3 lemons

4 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

50g lemon curd (about a tablespoon)

250g plain flour

200g ground almonds

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

Icing

2 x 250g tubs of mascarpone cheese

125g lemon curd

4 tbsp icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 180ºC and line the bottom of two 20cm sandwich tins with greaseproof paper.

Sieve the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate into a bowl and stir in the ground almonds.

In a separate large bowl, cream the butter and caster sugar until pale and fluffy. Zest the lemons directly into the bowl and stir in. Next, add the eggs one at a time alternating with a spoonful of the flour mixture and beat well. Stir in the vanilla extract and the lemon curd, and then add the dry ingredients, beating well to combine. Put half of the mix into each cake tin and level with a knife. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

While your cakes are cooling, make the icing. Simply mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and put into the fridge to keep cool until you’re ready to use it.

If your cakes have risen in the middle, level them off with a knife before icing. Then spread a quarter of the icing onto the first cake, top with the second one, and spread the remainder of the icing over the top and sides. Use a palette knife to smooth it down and decorate as you wish - I drizzled lines of chocolate across the top to create a simple geometric pattern.

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Sun-dried tomato, olive and cheese loaf

A classic Mediterranean combination which is perfect for a quick snack or as an accompaniment to a meal. You can play around with the ingredients to suit your taste - omit the olives and add a few more sun-dried tomatoes or use oregano instead of basil - and, of course, the best thing is there's no yeast, so once it's all mixed, it's straight into the oven!

250g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

3 large eggs, beaten

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp tomato puree

150g mature cheddar cheese, grated

75g pitted black olives, sliced or chopped

6 sun-dried tomatoes, (drain and dry on kitchen paper if in oil), chopped

handful of chopped fresh basil

pinch of salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 200ºC and grease a 450g (1lb) loaf tin.

Sieve the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the beaten eggs. Mix together with a spoon, add the olive oil and tomato puree and combine until you have a soft dough. Stir in the cheese, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper and spoon into the loaf tin.

Bake for 30 minutes and then turn the oven temperature down to 160ºC and bake for a further 20 minutes. It is ready when it sounds hollow when you tap the bottom. Take out of the tin and leave on a wire rack to cool.

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