Gluten Free Pea and Ham Quiche

Last Sunday I mentioned I have some little projects in the works. In this post I share one of those projects with you! I'm now a contributor to The Thrifty Issue, a blog created by Alison who shares her passion for recycling, getting back to nature, saving money and teaching our children the value of sustainability and eco-friendly living . If you're after a thrifty recipe this weekend, then pop over to the Food & Drink page on The Thrifty Issue blog for platefuls of ideas that you can cook and create at home!

Being thrifty is also about being smart with cash and here I share my simple recipe for a delicious, moist gluten free quiche using ingredients you will most likely find in your pantry, refrigerator or freezer. If you have unexpected guests or haven't had time to pop to the grocery store, never fear, you can whip up this easy quiche in no time. And when I say easy, I mean it! This is the most simple, gratifying quiche I have ever made and it tastes delicious!

Warm quiche slices for lunch

Gluten Free Pea and Ham Quiche
Serves 8

For the Pastry
60g unsalted butter
1 cup gluten free plain flour
2 Tbs chilled water
additional butter for greasing quiche dish

For the Filling
6 large free range eggs
1 small brown onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, finely diced
1 small red capsicum, diced
4 thin slices of ham or 4 slices of bacon, diced
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup grated gluten free Gruyere or tasty cheese
1/2 cup gluten free self-raising flour
Himalayan salt and cracked pepper to season

I wish you could smell this quiche... Mmmmmmm.....

For the Pastry:
Sift the flour into a large bowl, grate the butter into the flour and mix with your fingers until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Alternatively, you may cut the butter into cubes, add it to a food processor with the flour and pulse until crumbly. Add the chilled water sparingly until the mixture just comes together. You may find that you do not require all the water, so it is important not to add it all at once. Form the pastry into a ball, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

For the Filling:
Crack individual eggs into a small bowl before adding to a large mixing bowl. Whisk the eggs, sift in the gluten free self-raising flour and mix well. Add the remaining ingredients, season with salt and pepper and stir until evenly coated with the egg.

Assembly and Baking:
Preheat an oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease a 25cm quiche or pie dish, roll the pastry between sheets of greaseproof paper, then carefully line the dish and pinch the edges of the pastry between your thumb and forefinger to create a crimped edge. Pour the filling into the centre and smooth the top until roughly even. Bake uncovered for 40 to 50 minutes. Serve with freshly steamed broccolini, sprinkled with olive oil and seasoned with cracked pepper and sea salt or your choice of roast vegetables in the winter time. This quiche is delicious when served with a fresh, crisp salad in the summer time and can be enjoyed, warm from the oven or at room temperature.

Feel free to mix and match ingredients for the filling. I've added goats cheese and lightly cooked leek to mine in the past to make for one tasty quiche.

When my vegetarian friend came to stay, I made a vegetarian version of this quiche. For a spinach, mushroom and feta option, try the following filling (method and pastry as above):

Spinach, Mushroom and Danish Feta Filling
6 large free range eggs
1 small brown onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, finely diced
3 Spinach leaves, washed, finely sliced
100g button mushrooms, finely sliced
1/2 cup grated gluten free Gruyere cheese
1/2 cup gluten free self-raising flour
Himalayan salt and cracked pepper to season

Enjoy!

Delicious served hot or at room temperature

Have a wonderful weekend friends, full of laughter, love and wonderful food.

If you're somewhere near our southern oceans, perhaps you might spot a gorgeous humpback whale or two whilst you enjoy the sea and salt.

Bella xx

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Quiche Addiction

Something has happened to me dear blog friends... In the two weeks that I have been home I have greatly missed the 30 degree Celsius days and yearned for the sun, sea and bikinis.

I have (sadly) had to adapt to rain, rain and more rain and I have locked myself inside my small shoebox apartment to contemplate grey skies and a grumbling stomach.

Cue this little guy... Well to be more precise (and honest)... FIVE of these little guys.

That's right, in two short, bleak, dark, and incredibly rainy weeks I have managed to bake five quiches.

This is Number Five. He's delicious. Warm, cheesy and comforting.

I've decided the lazy Instagram blog picture ends here. It's time to share more culinary delights with you from the eye of my beautiful Canon DSLR.

Well... Right after I finish this mouthful..

Bella xx

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Mini Quiches

They're warm, soft, creamy and perfect for breakfast, a brunch, an afternoon snack...anytime really.

They're the type of snack you can whisk up in no time, even when you think you don't have anything in your fridge... Or you don't want to run outside in the torrential rain and risk soaking to the bone for one the rogue ingredient you forgot to buy during your last whirlwind trip to the grocery store.

If you have unexpected guests, they will be more than happy with these little golden gems and if you're anything like me... You will be pleasantly surprised when you're spinning madly in the kitchen a la the Tasmanian Devil to prepare a picnic for your childhood girlfriend, only to find that your best friend (for me, this is Byron) has decided to help you by baking these splendid mini quiches to take along.

Mini (pastry-less) Quiches

1 Tbs butter
5 eggs
300ml pure cream
8 button mushrooms, finely diced
2 shallots, finely sliced
1 small handful finely chopped baby spinach
2-3 Tbs ricotta
Salt and pepper to season
2 Tbs fetta

Makes 24+ mini quiches

Whisk the eggs together, pour in the cream and whisk until combined. Add the diced mushrooms, shallots and baby spinach. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine, then pour into the wells of a lightly greased mini muffin tin. Take care when pouring the mixture into the wells. I found it was best to fill the wells halfway, then spoon some of vegetables into each 'mini quiche', to ensure you don't end up with too much creamy egg sauce in each well. Top with a sprinkling of ricotta (this will sink a little bit, which is ideal, because it will cook into your quiches). Bake for 8-10 minutes in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius.

Check your quiches after about 8 minutes to ensure they do not overcook. They should rise impressively, like puffing their cheesy chests out, and turn slightly golden. Once cooked, allow them to cool slightly in the muffin tin before serving.

Serve with a modest sprinkling of crumbly fetta (we used an Australian variety, but soft Danish fetta is good too) and a small side salad, or sans salad... I mean they're delightful without any salad embellishments and even better to share on a picnic with your closest friends. Just remember to allow them to cool before packing them away in your hamper, otherwise you may find a little bit of liquid in the bottom of the container when you unveil them later.

When you bite into these mini quiches, you will be surprised at how delicate and sponge-like they feel in your mouth. They're soft and savoury, with the perfect amount of smooth creamy filling to compliment their soft vegetable pieces.

If you don't feel like making 24 or more mini quiches, then you can halve the recipe, otherwise you can easily cover the egg mixture and refrigerate overnight. But don't worry about storing the mini quiches- I assure you, they won't last long enough out of the oven. They're addictive.

Bella xx

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An Autumn Picnic with Bubbles...

A vast and beautiful green park, somehow magically placed beside a humming city was the scene for our autumn picnic yesterday afternoon. Our picnic site was on top of a grassy knoll, beneath giant old oak trees through which honey-coloured rays of sunlight shone. The grass was soft and cool to walk on with our bare feet as we set down a large colourful beach towel to serve as a picnic blanket. My good friend Nicole, whom I met in Kindergarten a very long time ago accompanied me with her beautiful three and a half year old daughter, Adannaya.

Nicole began to unpack her large hamper immediately, first the chilled drinks and dip and crackers, then the beautiful freshly roasted chicken and avocado lunch wraps she had prepared. Ada assisted by unpacking all of the cutlery in one neat pile, before skipping and jumping around on the grass happily to her own playful chatter.

I peeled the lid from a warm potato salad I had literally finished preparing the moment before I hopped into Nicole's car when she collected me from home. The creamy salad was filled with golden roasted potatoes, fetta cheese, grilled chorizo and whole egg mayonnaise, with oregano and cracked pepper (I have another variation of this 'comfort-food', which I cannot wait to share with you very soon!). I then unclipped the lid of the mini quiches Byron had baked especially for our lunch.

Very soon the aromas of our food saw Ada bounding back for something to nibble on, and of course a few gulps of cool, sweet orange and mango mineral water.

It was at this point that Nicole presented Ada with a long plastic tube filled with liquid.

'Bubbles!' Ada squealed, and for the next two hours Ada blew bubbles with us and tried to catch them in the breeze.

We laughed and played as Ada took a million (or more) pictures on Nicole's Canon G11. Ada captured images of bubbles...

...trees, grass, birds, her fingers, her toes, Nic and I chatting (I think Ada did very well for this photo)...

...and just about everything else you can imagine, which Nicole fondly named 'pictures through innocent eyes'.

It was a perfect Autumn afternoon, cool and a little cloudy, with just the perfect amount of sunlight and I have to admit, it was very special for me to see how Ada and her loving mother played together.

After our lunch had settled, I brought out the mini gluten free pear, hazelnut and cinnamon cakes I had baked earlier that morning and as Nic and I chatted away our afternoon very happily, I was amazed at how quickly the time passed.

It wasn't long until the sky grew a little darker in the late afternoon and a shiver prompted us to slip our cardigans back on that we realised it was time for us to begin to pack away our picnic.

Just as we were about to leave, we had an unexpected visitor. It simply wouldn't be a picnic without one of these little guys!

We piled everything back into the car and Nicole drove me home, where we parted ways after possibly the best picnic I have ever been on.

I will share the picnic recipes during the week but for now, I'm going to have a glass of red to accompany a gluten free italian pasta I whipped up in 15 minutes. Minimal effort, plenty of flavour and I think... Perhaps a feel-good movie will provide the ideal end to a relaxing and fun weekend.

Bella xx

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