A quiche for all seasons

by Helen

Who says you need eggs and bacon in order to make a delicious quiche? This is my “go to” quiche recipe whenever I have seasonal vegetables that need to be used up. It’s delicious, packed with protein and vitamins and extremely filling.

I learned the recipe at a vegan cookery course I attended when I was living in Germany. The course took place in December, so we used winter vegetables such as celeriac and kohlrabi, things I never even knew existed before I moved to Germany. I found, however, that the recipe could be adapted to any vegetable, and now I make a different version of the quiche every two weeks or so.

It’s a very simple recipe, made even simpler if you always keep a ready-made roll of shortcrust pastry in the fridge, a packet of frozen peas in the freezer and a tin of sweetcorn in the cupboard. I tend to make the quiche when my supply of fresh vegetables is not as crisp as I might like it to be.

This is the recipe. Click here to download a pdf version. The quiche in the photo was made with onions, spring onions, celery, carrots, broccoli, bell pepper and frozen peas.

1. CHOOSE YOUR VEGETABLES
Select around 500g of 4-6 different vegetables (some ideas are below, but feel free to try different vegetables if you like).
For a summer quiche: pepper, courgette, tomatoes, spring onion, carrot, celery…
For a winter quiche: leek, cabbage, turnip, swede, kohlrabi, parsnip, celeriac…
For all seasons: onion, garlic, broccoli, spinach, mushroom, tinned and frozen veg (peas, sweetcorn, etc.)…

• Fry the vegetables in a frying pan until tender. Then keep on a low heat while you prepare the pastry and binding mixture.

2. MAKE OR BUY THE PASTRY
Either buy a ready-made roll of shortcrust pastry or make your own:
250g flour
½ tsp salt
80g vegetable oil
4 tbsp cold water

• Sift the flour and salt, then pour in the oil and mix well.
• Add the water and press together to form a firm dough.
• Roll out the pastry onto a floured surface and place it in a greased flan dish.
• Prick a few times with a fork and bake for 10 mins at 230°C.

3. BLEND THE BINDING MIXTURE
1 packet silken tofu
100g cashew nuts
150g cold water
1 tbsp yeast flakes
juice of ½ lemon
1 tsp salt (use Kala Namak if you want an ‘eggy’ taste)
1 tsp black pepper
½ tsp cayenne pepper

• Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend until you have a smooth mixture.
• Add 2 teaspoons of marjoram and blend for two seconds more.
• Stir the binding mixture into the vegetables and cook for a further 2 mins until it thickens.
• Pour the vegetable mixture into the pre-baked flan case and press down firmly.
• Bake for a further 10 mins at 220°C, then 10 mins at 200°C.

What steps can you take now?

• Search online for more delicious vegan recipes. You may be surprised by what you find.
• Add more variety into your diet by experimenting with vegetables you don’t normally eat.
• Make your own version of this quiche and enjoy! Then share the recipe with your friends.