Veggie Quiche- a gluten free/soy free delight

It did work!

The very much experimental Bank Holiday Monday trial dinner paid off, and I think it offers a versatile recipe that may well be back in various forms.

I have never made a vegan quiche before even though I have come across numerous recipes in the past, it was simply something I had not got round to doing. So finally I have… and to give myself a double challenge I opted for a GF crust (as opposed to spelt as I would have typically gone for).

Most quiche recipes I have come across use a tofu mix as the ‘eggy’ part. I personally don’t have any objection to soy, but I know many people do and also others have allergies so I was intrigued to see what other options were out there. Ok, I’ll admit, that being the person I am I don’t like to do things the easy way so thought I may as well go all the way in ‘experimentalness’ (new word?)  The answer...? Chickpea flour...well I never!

Before some of you scroll down and loose the plot with my unusually long list of instructions, let me just say three things:

1-      This quiche is worth the effort

2-      You could opt for any crust recipe if you have a favourite (or buy one if you insist!)

3-      These firm up really well and would make great crust-less quiches in muffins tins if you want to speed things up and make less work for yourself  (note: I have not tested this idea but now i so want to!)

I did a lot of research before attempting this quiche and therefore I give credit below to two recipes that inspired the filling and the crust, as usual I changed things up a bit  (partly due to ingredients I had to hand) but they gave me the basis to work from. The crust itself is quite thick and very filling,  so you could make it a little thinner if you like (maybe 4-5mm)  and I think it would still hold together well. It was really crisp with a slight flakiness which I loved although my mum (who I was making dinner for also) said she thought it was harder than a regular wheat crust but she enjoyed it all the same.

I had a left over portion for my lunch the next day and it was just as good. I warmed it up before serving but you could just as easily have it cold as it firms up really well as a 'veggie slice' hence why I think it would make really good crust-less mini quiches even you allow them to cool in tins before serving.

P.S. I apologise for the not so great photos- these were taken with my makeshift night kit (I misjudged the timing and it got dark by the time it was served) and for some reason I just wasn't really having much success with the lighting, so having to rely on Photoshop instead... oh well. I can already anticipate Foodgawkers blunt critique!

 

Recipe: Veggie Quiche (gluten free/soy free)

Makes approx. one 9’quiche to serve 4

Ingredients- crust

Inspired by this recipe  

¾ cup buckwheat flour

¾ cup brown rice flour

4tbs arrowroot

4tbs tapioca starch

1 tbs ground flax or chia (optional- I think this helps to bind)

½ tsp salt

3 tsp soft (not melted) coconut oil

3 tsp olive oil

2 tsp white wine vinegar (or any mild vinegar)

2tbs cold water (or more as needed)

Method:

In a medium bowl, mix together the flours and starches. Add the remaining ingredients and mix with your hands until and firm dough forms (add a little extra water if the dough is too dry or a little extra buckwheat flour if too wet).

The dough will be firm and should hold together well, it should roll out fairly easily, mine was a little crumbly but that is fine since you will mainly press it in the pie dish anyway. Roughly roll the dough into a circle the size of you dish then place the dish upside down over the dough circle before flipping it over the allow the dough to fall into the dish (does that make sense?)  Alternatively you can get your hands in and simply using your fingers to press the dough evenly to cover the pie dish right up to the rim.

Prick the pasty with a fork and then pre-bake for 10 mins at 180C.

Whilst the crust is baking, prepare the filing. Feel free to vary the veg from the ones I have used below.

Ingredients- filling

Inspired by this recipe

1 medium courgette- chopped into half-rounds
½ a large red bell pepper- chopped into strips

½ cup soy beans or peas (thawed if using frozen)

1 small onion- thinly sliced
½ tsp garlic powder
½ cup chickpea flour
1 tbs potato starch (or other starch)
3 tsp nutritional yeast

1 tsp mustard
½ teaspoon salt
¼ tsp mixed herbs
pinch paprika

Large pinch baking powder
1 tbs olive oil

1 cup water

Method:

Chop the veggies and set aside.

In a separate bowl (or a food processor as I did), whisk together the remaining ingredients, other than the water) once you have a smooth paste add the water and whisk again until smooth. It should be about the consistency of pancake batter and have no lumps.

Once the quiche crust is out if the oven, fill it with the veggies so that it is just about full. Pour the batter on top of your veggies making sure to fill all of the gaps. Lightly tap the pan on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles.

Bake for approx. 30 minutes, until the filling appears set and every so lightly golden brown on top. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing. The leftovers can also be eaten cold the next day (which is what I did!)

 

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

Baked chocolate fudge custard tarts

I’ve been looking to make a healthy vegan ‘custard’ for some time. Ever since my egg nog experiment, where the warm and spicy flavours of vanilla and nutmeg enveloped me.

I was recently inspired by this recipe for a cashew custard by Quirky Cooking, it looked deliciously simple but since I was in a ‘tart baking mood’ at the time I decided to modify it a bit to create a thicker custard that would suit a tart or pie filling. I also added a little nutmeg for a warming spice kick. If you want a thinner custard suitable for pouring you could reduce the amount of cashews and chia a little and slightly increase the water (or simply follow this recipe).

I had fun playing around with tart case options.  Originally I wanted to go with a basic pastry shell and then pile the tart with fresh fruit berries, but as it happened I didn’t have any berries or suitable pretty fruit. So then I began thinking of ways to flavour the tart case in interesting ways.

Options…options!   Either gingerbread and chocolate initially sprang to mind. Since I also had planned to make some of my healthy chocolate fudge to snack on during the week I thought it would be a good opportunity to test it out as a baked crust!

So, the tarts in the photos have a baked chocolate fudge crust, but you could also use your own tart case recipe. Baking the chocolate fudge seems to work really well as a sweet ‘pastry substitute’. It was really easy since the dough itself is very soft and easy to mould so I flattened a ball of it in my hands and then pressed it into a tart case with my fingers, or you could roll the dough and use cutters.

Taste test for the sweetness of the custard as soon as it’s mixed before you spoon it into the cases and add extra agave or a little stevia as necessary. I used a sweet tart case so the custard itself didn’t  need to be overly sweet, if you were using a less sweet tart pastry style case then you may prefer a sweeter custard filling.

 

Recipe: Baked chocolate fudge custard tarts

Makes 1 medium bowl of thick custard

Ingredients- custard

100g raw cashews

400g water

2 tsp vanilla paste or powder (best quality)

½ tsp ground nutmeg

1 tbs ground chia

70g agave (plus a pinch of stevia is you require additional sweetness to taste)

30g cornflour

Method

To make the custard, grind the cashews to get a fine meal. Add all ingredients along with the cashews to medium pan and bring to the boil for 5 minutes stirring continuously.

Alternatively using a Thermomix, grind the cashews for 10 seconds speed 9 and then add all ingredients to the bowl. Cook the mixture at 90C speed 4 for 5 minutes.

Lightly grease the tart pans and line with you chosen tart case. Spoon the custard into the prepared tart cases (if using the chocolate fudge crust line the tart pans with a 3mm thick layer of raw fudge dough) and bake at 180C  for  approx.10 minutes until the tart tops are on the verge of going golden, keep a close eye so they don’t brown.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.