Country Quiche

I have this love affair with quiches - I love eating them! I still remember my 1st encounter with them was in this tiny cafe in Banff in the beautiful Canadian Rockies. First time I saw it, I didn't know how to pronounce it, and called it 'quic-key'. I was promptly corrected by the server!

Since then, I've loved its custard-y texture together with the melt-in-your-mouth buttery crust. My search for the perfect quiche recipe ended when my kitchen goddess friend, DJ shared this one with me. Altho rather difficult to whip up for a quick dinner, it's great for those lazy weekend afternoons. Served best hot but also equally good cold with a salad, leftover quiche is great as a light dinner.

Tips
1) This works best in those wall-mounted ovens with a sliding oven tray which u can slide in and out. Pour the egg mixture into something with a spout, e.g. measuring jug or even tea pot. Pour only half the mixture into the pie base. After placing the pie on the sliding tray, pour in the remainder till you reach nearly the brim of the pie. Slide it in. No spillage! I made the mistake of thinking I had a fantastic sense of balance. Between sliding in a to-the-brim quiche and trying not to scald my hands on the sides of the oven, my egg mixture spilt all over the oven floor and charred nicely. I had a good hard time trying to scrub it out later.

2) The diameter of the pie pan is quite vital - Pie pan depths are usually quite standard. The ingredients are calculated so that after pouring in all the egg mixture, you will almost exactly reach the brim of the pie base. But even if things don't work out so exactly, you can just pour in as much egg mixture as it takes to almost reach the brim. Remember not to pour right up to the very brim or it will overflow, the egg mixture will rise just a bit.

Ingredients (Either 1 large quiche, or 4 small ones)
Short crust pastry
200g flour
200g butter
3 tbsp cold water

Filling
2 big onion, sliced
150g sausages, sliced
Pinch of nutmeg
50g green peas
1 red chilli, deseeded and sliced
½ tbsp concentrated chicken stock

Egg mixture
3 eggs
150ml milk
Salt & pepper to taste

Method
1) Make short crust pastry by rolling flour and better until they resemble small bread crumbs. Combine into a ball and set aside in the fridge to rest for 20 mins.
2) In a pan, sauté the filling ingredients. Pour into the bowl containing the egg mixture and mix well.
3) Roll out the pastry into a 10” pan. Prick the base with a fork so that it doesn’t rise up during baking.
4) Pour in the filling.
5) Bake in the oven at 190 Degrees C for 25 – 30 mins or until golden brown.