Roasted vegetable quiche

Making a quiche is not a quick job. Especially if you are making pastry from scratch, it takes a bit of effort. However, I really fancied making home-made quiche as today was one of those wet miserable British days. Certainly, this colourful quiche will cheer anybody up. :) 

I used aubergine as there was a bit left in my fridge, but there were mixed reviews .... I quite enjoyed the soft texture and mellow  flavour of aubergine, but some said it didn't go with the egg mixture. 

So, I may say that aubergine could be replaced with another vegetable like carrots.  

Cherry tomatoes are a must have item for this quiche. They brighten up the dish.  They also have a very sweet and tangy flavour to give extra kick to the quiche. 

Ingredients (for 20cm round loose-bottomed tin) 

• 1 small onion sliced
• 120g courgette sliced
• 3 mushrooms sliced
• ½ red pepper sliced
• 120g aubergine sliced
• 8-10 chetrry tomatoes cut in half
• 3 cloves of garlic sliced
• 1 tsp mixed dried herbs

For the egg mixture

• 2 large eggs
• 150ml semi-skimmed milk
• salt and pepper 
• 1 tsp mixed dried herbs 

 For pastry:

• 200g plain flour
• 50g lard
• 50g butter (If you prefer 100% butter pastry, use 100g butter and ignore the lard)
• pinch of salt

Method

1.  First make the pastry. Sift the flour into a large bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp of ice-cold water and mix to form a dough, adding an extra 1 tbsp water, if necessary.

2.  Gather the dough into a ball, then roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a 28 cm circle, about 3 mm thick. Use the pastry to line a loose-bottomed 20cm fluted flan tin, about 3 cm deep. Prick the pastry case all over with a fork, then cover and chill for at least 30 minutes.

3.  Place vegetables on a baking tray and drizzle olive oil. Sprinkle salt, pepper and dried mixed herbs. Bake the vegetables in the preheated (200°C, 400°F, gas mark 6) oven until tender. Then leave them to cool.

4.  Line the chilled pastry case with a piece of greaseproof paper and cover with baking beans. Place on the hot baking tray and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and beans, and continue baking the pastry case for 5 minutes. Brush the bottom of the pastry case with a little of the beaten egg and bake for a further 2 minutes. Remove from the oven, leaving the baking tray inside. Reduce the oven to 190°C (375°F, gas mark 5).

5.  Beat the milk with the eggs. Add the herbs and seasoning to taste. Spread the vegetables in the pastry case. Put cherry tomatoes on top. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables.

6.  Place the quiche in the oven, on the hot baking tray, and bake for 30–40 minutes or until the filling is set. Leave to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.