Dairy-free Pastry-free Quiche - Easy Picture Recipe

One of the problems I have is pastry. I like it, it doesn't like me! Pastry tends to give me heartburn and acid reflux, so the hunt has been on for a substitute for pastry in some of our favourites dishes, quiche being one of them.

Whilst in Tesco recently I spotted a sign for a recipe for Elena's Cheeky Tortilla Quiche and thought it was worth a try... however, her recipe uses cheese and milk, both of which are no-no's for the dairy intolerant son of the family, so I went to experiment in the kitchen, and after three attempts, this was the result:

Dairy-free Pastry-free Quiche

INGREDIENTS:

1 plain tortilla wrap

4 medium eggs

sweetened soya milk - see below for quantity needed (we use Tesco sweetened soya milk)

2 large mushrooms sliced

1/2 small onion sliced into rings

4 sliced rings from a small green bell pepper 

100g sliced chorizo sausage (we use Aldi Spanish Spicy Chorizo Ring)

pinch ground nutmeg

1 green OXO cube

Equipment needed:

Quiche tray or flan dish 21.5cm / 8.5" diameter and 2.5cm / 1" deep internally

Frying pan or skillet

Measuring jug (at least 1/2 litre capacity)

Baking parchment

We used a ceramic quiche tray for baking, we tried the earlier version with a glass quiche tray and it didn't work as well as the ceramic one did, due to the way ceramic absorbs and holds the heat we think.  We have not tried this with a metal quiche tray.

Step 1...

Brush the base of the quiche tray with a very small amount of oil to help prevent the lining paper from moving once ingredients go into it.  Cut a circle of baking parchment as a tray liner making sure it stands a good inch above the rim of the tray to prevent accidental leakage into your oven.

Step 2... 

Place the tortilla flat inside the tray, curving it to fit the tray as below (the yellow marks are the oil showing through the parchment).

Step 3... 

Arrange the onion rings on the tortilla.

Step 4...

Arrange the mushroom slices on the onion rings.

Step 5...

Add the pepper rings even round the tray on top of the mushrooms and onion.

Step 6...

Put the chorizo slices into a dry frying pan or skillet (no oil needed) and heat it until the oil in the sausage leaks into the pan and the sausage is slightly browned underneath, turn over each slice and let it brown on the other side. It only takes 2-3 mins each side to do this.  

Step 7...

Whilst the chorizo is browning, crack the eggs into the measuring jug and mix gently with a fork to break up the yolk.  Add the crumbled OXO cube and a small pinch of nutmeg, then top up the egg mixture with the soya milk to around 450ml, mix soya milk into egg with fork and leave to stand for a few minutes.

Step 8...

Remove browned chorizo in frying pan / skillet from heat. It should look like this:

Step 9...

Arrange chorizo slices around the quiche tray between the pepper slices.

Step 10...

Carefully pour egg / soya milk mixture into the tortilla case making sure not to disturb the layout of your filling.

Step 11...

Bake on top shelf of oven for 50-60 minutes on Gas mark 6 / 200 °C / 400°F.  Test with a skewer or knife point to make sure filling is cooked (tip: if it comes out wet it needs longer!)

Step 12...

Slice and eat!  We found it is really nice hot from the oven but if you leave it to cool and eat cold later it is just as good, the texture is nice and dense without being chewy. 

Notes:

The original Tesco recipes calls for 4 tortillas which in our quiche tray would have left no room for the filling! The single tortilla works very well and the parchment provides the leakage protection that the original recipe uses the other tortillas for. 

If you use a different size quiche tray you will need to adjust the quantities slightly to make sure your tray is filled properly. 

Pinch the cow's udder again... (Adventures in Cheese)

Now you'll be wondering what the title is all about!  It is the literal translation of the word reblocher, which gives its name to today's cheese adventure Reblochon.  Most of my cheese adventures will cover cheeses that are new to me but this one isn't, as I have met the mighty Reblochon before courtesy of my cousin's ex-wife who is French. On a visit to see them Cathy made a wonderfully tasty French dish called Tartiflette and I was so enamoured with it she brought another for me when they came to visit us.

Reblochon was the first cheese of the Savoie - that mountainous Alpine region - to be granted the Appellation d'origine contrôlée certification back in 1958. It is a soft washed-rind and smear-ripened cheese traditionally made from raw cow's milk. The cow breeds best for producing the milk needed for this cheese are the Abondance, Tarentaise and the Montbéliarde.

Reblochon derives from the word "reblocher" which when literally translated means "to pinch a cow's udder again". This refers to the practice of holding back some of the milk from the first milking. During the 14th century, the landowners would tax the mountain farmers according to the amount of milk their herds produced. The farmers would therefore not fully milk the cows until after the landowner had measured the yield. The milk that remains is much richer, and was traditionally used by the dairymaids to make their own cheese.

This cheese measures 14 cm (5.5") across and 3–4 cm (1.2"–1.6") thick, has a soft centre with a washed rind and weighs an average of 450 grams (16 oz). As proof of its being well-aged in an airy cellar, the rind of this cheese is covered with a fine white mould.

It is a strong flavoured cheese with an equally pungent aroma, and it does leave a pleasant after-taste in the mouth after eating it. It is a slightly sticky soft cheese, rather like a ripe Brie in texture but not in flavour.

So other than eating it as is (which is delicious), how about having a go at making Tartiflette, which Cathy told me is a French peasant-style dish, but don't let that put you off! It's simple to make with easily found ingredients, but it tastes superb. 

To make Tartiflette you will need:

1 Reblochon cheese

1kg of firm-fleshed potatoes

200g smoked bacon or lardons

2 large onions (about 200g)

10cl of white wine (a small glass)

Ground Pepper

Optional: grated nutmeg

How to make it: 

Peel and cut the potatoes into pieces.

Cut the onions into slices.

In a frying pan, cook the bacon or lardons for 3 minutes with the onions so that they begin to brown.

Add the potatoes and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 200 ° C - Thermostat 6-7.

Deglaze with white wine and cook for 5 minutes.

Add a twist or two of Ground Pepper (no salting with the bacon), and add the nutmeg according to your taste.

Cut your Reblochon in half to make two wheel shapes, keeping the rind. Keep one side to put on the top of the dish to make the topping (gratin) and cut the other side into small pieces to be mixed into the potatoes - bacon - onions. 

In a baking dish, arrange the potatoes-bacon-onions mixture and pieces of Reblochon and then put on the top the half Reblochon to gratinate, rind upwards.

Place in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes so that the Reblochon becomes golden.

Serve warm with a green salad.

Click the image above to find the Hairy Bikers' tartiflette recipe on the BBC Food Recipes website.