Tart With Base Motives
The perfect quiche crust offers an easy base for a range of savoury and sweet fillings
GROWING up, there was little that could top mum’s spinach quiche. A quick mix of fresh, boiled-down spinach, sauteed bacon and onion, roughly beaten eggs and a dash of milk - the whole thing could be knocked together in less than 20 minutes and tossed in to a quiche dish lined with defrosted sheets of cut-to-fit bought frozen pastry. Thrown on a plate with a lightly dressed salad and some fresh crusty bread, it was the perfect summer supper.
It wasn’t until I moved from Torquay to Paris some 20-odd years later that I realised what I’d been missing all these years (sorry Mum!). On dinner call and looking for an easy-out, I stepped in to La Solana, a tiny cafe in a narrow side street, and had my quiche world transformed. Six, seven, eight flavour-packed offerings, all by the slice and all resting atop the same delectable base; firm yet chewily dense, buttery but not greasy.
The secret to really great quiche is in the base. Neither too soggy, too thin, too thick, too crumbly nor too oily, the perfect pastry foundation serves two integral functions. First and foremost the base is a cradle for your savoury toppings, but equally as important is its taste and texture - ideally slightly buttery with a somewhat firm bite. Anything less and you may as well settle for the quiche’s poorer cousin, the frittata.
Which brings us briefly to the issue of semantics. To mangle Gertrude Stein, a quiche is not a quiche is not quiche is not a quiche. Originating in the French region of Lorraine (though, funnily enough, the word comes from the German “kuchen”, meaning “cake”), the term “quiche” technically serves as a specific reference to the most famous of all tarts - the rich egg, cheese and bacon concoction known the world over as quiche lorraine. Sometime between now and its invention in the 16th century, the term has widened to encompass a whole range of open, savoury tarts with a basic pastry crust.
But I digress. At La Solana, Frederick (gate keeper of the quiche crust) has acceded to my requests for a lesson in the classic art of pastry preparation (it turns out pastry making isn’t as difficult as one might guess). There are no tricks to the perfect base, he assures me, other than to mix with a light hand and to allow the pastry to rest before rolling. He proves to be a little more dexterous than me, though he assures me this is simply down to four years of daily practice. Oh, and for all those baking newcomers, be assured that precise measurements do need to be followed. Keep the creativity for Part Two: the cooking of the content.
Turns out, while Mum might have flunked shortcrust school, her quick and easy approach to turning out a light and tasty filling wasn’t too far off the mark. And that Frederick’s vast array of savoury combinations requires less work than first impressions suggest. The secret to simplicity is in his two-part process.
First, select your tart filling and layer on your pre-cooked pastry base: keep it simple with some sauteed bacon, onion and a fistful of sharp, grated cheddar, or experiment with more time-consuming options, like layers of home-grilled vegetables and feta. I love Frederick’s tarty-take on the classic moussaka, while his chicken and citrus combo is the perfect picnic fare (see recipes).
Next, whip together a standard mixture of eggs, milk, a little flour and a pinch of pepper and salt, and pour over your savoury filling until the golden mix is level with the pastry crust. Think of it as a kind of rich and delectable quiche glue, the foundation that will, well, fill out the filling, as it were.
Lastly, sprinkle with a little gruyere cheese and pop it in a hot oven for 20 minutes, or until the crust is a rich, golden brown. The quiche should keep for two to three days in the fridge. Eat it cold for breakfast or warm for lunch, reheated in a gentle oven. Microwaving is sacrilegious - after all, nobody likes a soggy tart.
Of course there’s no reason why, with a few minor adaptations, Frederick’s savoury shortcrust can’t be transformed into the basis for a fantastically sweet and fruity flan. Just add a little sugar (see recipes), and then replace the savoury with the sweet - think summer stewed berries or, in winter, a cinnamon, apple and rhubarb mix.
Call it a tart or a quiche, this is one of those times when language must take a back seat to taste. Ignore the semantics. Just give quiche a chance.
The perfect quiche
THE BASE
This is a French classic. Known as pate brisee, it is the equivalent of our shortcrust pastry. To make a base for sweet fillings, simply add 50g of castor sugar to the flour before mixing in the wet ingredients.
INGREDIENTS
150g butter, softened
1 egg
pinch of salt
300g plain flour
15ml milk at room-temperature
METHOD
Preheat oven to 180C.
Soften the butter. Mix in the egg and salt.
Gradually add the flour and milk, alternating until the pastry becomes firm but pliable. Add more milk if necessary.
Cover and refrigerate for 90 minutes. Roll the pastry to fit the desired dish and pre-bake for 15 minutes.
Makes a base for eight servings.
BASIC FILLING
The eggy mix is rich but subtle, allowing the flavours of the featured ingredients to shine through.
INGREDIENTS
5 eggs
1 cup milk
2 dessertspoons plain flour
salt and pepper to taste
METHOD
Beat together and then reserve to pour over your savoury quiche fillings.
MOUSSAKA FILLING:
1 onion, finely chopped
garlic
200g lean mince beef
olive oil
6 tomatoes
1 eggplant
gruyere cheese, grated
thyme
METHOD
Slice the eggplant, drizzle with oil and cook in a warm oven until soft. Remove and drain.
Sautee the onion, garlic and beef in a little olive oil until well-cooked. Spread over your pastry crust.
Slice the raw tomatoes and layer on top of the beef mixture.
Layer cooked eggplant over the tomato and minced beef. Season with thyme and grated gruyere to taste over the mix.
Pour on the pre-prepared basic filling until it reaches the top of the pie crust. Sprinkle further grated gruyere on top and place in a hot oven (250C) for 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.
CHICKEN AND CITRUS FILLING:
1 onion, finely chopped
olive oil
450g chicken fillet
1 lemon, peeled
salt
parsley, chopped
30g gruyere cheese
METHOD
Sautee onion in olive oil.
Bake the chicken fillet until well cooked, cool, and cut in to smallish cubes. Sprinkle onion and chicken over pastry crust.
Cut the lemon flesh into small pieces and layer over chicken to taste. Season the layers with salt and parsley and sprinkle with grated gruyere.
Top with basic filling and cook as above.