Eggsellent fillings!

Using the recipe on the previous page as your guide, you can easily make a whole range of quiches. Just note that you may have a teensy bit of egg mixture left over, depending on how much filling you add — don’t go too crazy, or you won’t have enough custard to hold the quiche together. You just want to flavour the quiche, not pack it like a pie.

Photography © Brett Stevens

Spinach & goat’s feta

Omit the bacon (optional), thyme and gruyère. When you sauté the onion, towards the end add 1 very finely chopped garlic clove and a few handfuls of baby English spinach leaves; sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg and sauté until the spinach has wilted. Leave to cool, then add to the blind-baked pastry shells. Divide 65 g (2¼ oz/ ½ cup) soft goat’s feta cheese among the pastry shells. Mix ½ teaspoon very finely grated lemon zest through the egg mixture before pouring it over the spinach and cheese. You can also add 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh mint or oregano with the egg or spinach if desired.

Photography © Brett Stevens

Mushroom & gruyère

Omit the bacon if desired. After you’ve sautéed the onion and thyme, remove the mixture from the pan. Add a few teaspoons of extra butter to the pan, with 2 crushed garlic cloves and 135 g (4¾ oz/1½ cups) finely sliced mushrooms of your choice. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes, or until the mushrooms are starting to wilt. Add 1 tablespoon brandy and cook for a further 8–10 minutes, or until the mushrooms are tender and there is no liquid left in the pan. Combine the onion and mushrooms and divide among the blind-baked pastry shells. Add 1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley and 1½ teaspoons dijon mustard, if desired, to the egg and cream mixture. Use gruyère instead of cheddar; also try using a mild, soft blue-vein cheese too.

Photography © Brett Stevens

Seafood

Omit the bacon and thyme. Instead of the onion, sauté the finely chopped white part of 1 large leek. Leave to cool, then add to the blind-baked pastry shells. Take 180 g (6½ oz) of one or more of the following: chopped raw prawns (shrimp), smoked salmon strips, diced raw salmon, chopped raw squid, small raw scallops or diced meaty scallops, or small oysters. Divide the seafood among the pastry shells; there should be 30 g (1 oz) in each. To the egg and cream mixture, add 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill, 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives, 1½–2 teaspoons horseradish cream (optional) and ½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest.

Photography © Brett Stevens

Chicken, asparagus & tarragon

Omit the thyme if desired. Divide 200 g (7 oz) cooked, diced chicken thighs (I just lightly poach mine in chicken stock) over the sautéed onion in the blind-baked pastry shells. Blanch 4–6 slender asparagus spears (in the leftover chicken stock), cut into 2 cm (¾ inch) lengths and divide among the pastry shells. To the egg and cream mixture, add ¼ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest, 1 teaspoon dijon mustard, 2 teaspoons white wine and 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon. If tarragon isn’t in season, use dill instead, or simply use thyme as in the original recipe.

leftovers love quiche! Be inventive with those bits in the fridge you weren’t quite sure what to do with — roasted root vegetables, oven-roasted tomatoes, salami, ham, chicken, tuna, that bit of ricotta still left in the tub, antipasto items such as grilled eggplant (aubergine), capsicum, chopped olives. Go now and take a quick look — what’s in your quiche tonight?