Recipe: Quiche with green vegetables

Aqra din ir-riċetta bil-Malti: Quiche bil-ħaxix aħdar

In this recipe we use three types of vegetables: broccoli, marrows and peas. If you prefer, you can change one of the ingredients with another type of green vegetable.

Preparation: 20 min

Total time: 1 hour 25 min

Serves: 8 persons

Ingredients:

500 g short crust pastry
25 g Parmesan cheese, grated
30 g pine nuts, roasted
Handful of fresh basil leaves
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
2 long marrows, divided lengthwise then thinly sliced
200 g broccoli florets, small
6 eggs
250 ml chicken or vegetable stock
85 ml double cream
100 g frozen peas

You will also need a bag of dried beans, any kind will do; they will be used to hold the pastry in place while blind baking. You may keep a bag of beans for this sole purpose in the fridge to use as required.

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 200°C.
Grease a flat cake tin of 26 cm diameter with oil or butter.
Open the dough sufficiently and line the tin with the dough.
Pierce the bottom of the pastry with a fork, cover with baking paper and place the dried beans inside; bake for 15 minutes. Remove the beans and paper and bake for a further 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, place the Parmesan cheese and the pine nuts in a food processor until the nuts are broken into small pieces.
Add the basil, the lemon juice and half the oil and combine into a paste.
Heat the rest of the oil in a frying pan on moderate heat, fry the broccoli for 5 minutes or until they have softened a little.
Add the marrows and continue to fry for 5 minutes or until the vegetables start to brown.
Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs and add the stock, double cream and basil paste; beat all together.
Pour the egg mixture into the pastry and spread the vegetable mixture.
Bake for 40 minutes or until the egg mixture is cooked.