TO QUICHE OR NOT TO QUICHE…A mushroom quiche & wholesome lunchboxes!

At home, the lines are firmly drawn as far as the quiche story goes…or more suitably, the ‘quiche’ war. On one side, stand the son & me, who are not great egg fans at all; me far worse than him! The rest on the other side. It’s the quintessential question…to quiche or not to quiche? One wonder’s why I make it anyway. Well, firstly the die-hard baker in me overtakes the egg-disliker; & then, I actually like the idea of a savoury pie (which the son might enjoy in time). It’s only in the winter months when one can truly enjoy the rather filling slice of savoury pie…eggs + cream + butter! In summer, one would gladly settle for something much lighter!

I’ve made a quiche after almost 4 years. Leafing through a baking book the other day, I chanced upon a picture of a quiche, which was enough to set me off. I had a slice as well…it was quite nice actually. The son had a slice too, though he didn’t look like he was enjoying himself too much. The rest of the quiche disappeared into a sumptuous lunch for the eggy side of the family. Even the daughter, who was running a 102 viral fever, devoured it happily! PHEW…another meal completed & another day gone!

Quiche is a rich unsweetened custard pie, often containing ingredients such as vegetables, cheese, or seafood. Although quiche is now a classic dish of French cuisine, quiche actually originated in Germany, in the medieval kingdom of Lothringen, under German rule, and which the French later renamed Lorraine. The word ‘quiche’ is from the German ‘Kuchen’, meaning cake. Quiche can be served as an entrée, for lunch, breakfast or an evening snack.

• Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C.
• Sift the flour into a bowl.
• Cut the butter in with either your finger tips or a pastry cutter till it becomes a breadcrumb like mixture.
• Add chilled water & gently pull together to a firm dough. DO NOT OVERWORK or KNEAD dough, or you will get a tough crust.
• Wrap in clingfilm & chill for about 30 mins.
• Roll out to a diameter 2 inches larger than size of pie dish. Carefully place in dish, trim edges as required, leaving a 1/2″ overhang. REMEMBER that the crust always shrinks while baking, so don’t be tempted to stretch it to fit the dish. ( I’m always tempted!)
• Cover with foil, then top with pie weights or beans, & bake blind for 15 minutes. Remove weights & foil & bake for a further 10-15 minutes till light golden brown.
• Leave on rack.

Filling:

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C.
• Heat 1-2 tbsps of olive oil in a frying pan. Stir in the mushrooms, garlic & lime juice.
• Season with salt & pepper. Cook until the mushrooms give out their liquid.
• Increase heat & cook until dry. Stir in herbs; adjust seasoning.
• Whisk the eggs, cream & half the grated cheese.
• Stir in the mushrooms.
• Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the bottom of the pie shell & pour the mushroom filling over the top.
• Bake for 15 minutes till it starts setting. take out of oven gently & place overlapping slices of tomatoes on top.(I put them on half & left the other half plain)
• Return to oven & bake further for 20 minutes, till puffed up & brown.
• Serve warm or at room temperature.

Read about an interesting foodblogging event at Coffee & Vanlla , Margot’s blog, the other day…a ‘Wholesome Lunchbox’ event – looking for some lunchbox ideas for kids. Margot has worked out a nice balanced lunchbox & I’m trying to fill it up as best as I can. The tummy-filler comes from this post, which is a slice of quiche.

The rest are from below…recipes/posts that I have done previously. The five-a-day options & dairy products are covered by the raisins & nuts, steamed brocolli & the fruit kabobs which have fruit & cheese too. There’s plenty of taste & ease of eating. The sweet something is a slice of Chocolate, Chocolate-chip & Walnut cake (my own recipe, a delicious moist cake, which has some wholewheat flour & yogurt in it too). Would finish it off with a drink of water or lime juice. My daughter would be over the moon if I could get all these into a box for her on the same day.

Novel idea Margot…got me thinking ‘lunchboxes’!