Serves: 6-8
Prep Time: 45 mins Cooking time: 25 mins (Total Time: 1hr 15)
Last Sunday was my 19th birthday and I spent the day in London, doing some shopping but also checking out some great vegan spots to eat, one of them being 222 Veggie Vegan. The 100% vegan restaurant puts on an all you can eat lunch time buffet for £7.50 each, consisting of 6 hot and 6 cold dishes - the food was absolutely exquisite and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone, veggie or not! But if you do go, make sure you book as there was a queue outside the door by halfway through lunch service as the place is quite small. My favourite dish was chef Ben's carrot tart - a quiche made from a mix tofu, chickpea flour and various herbs on a shortcrust pastry that was so delicious I kept going back for more - this resulted in me leaving the restaurant feeling way too full, but I have absolutely no regrets.
Prep Time: 45 mins Cooking time: 25 mins (Total Time: 1hr 15)
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| Sun-dried Tomato, Mushroom & Broccoli Quiche |
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| Sun-dried Tomato, Mushroom & Broccoli Quiche |
Having the tart reminded me of how much I missed eating quiche and what a great lunch/ picnic food it can be - especially when served up with a fresh salad on a summers day. For a few weeks I have lacked inspiration slightly, whether that be moving back home for the summer and not having quite settled yet, or having my birthday as a greater focus I'm not sure but this week my brain has been buzzing with ideas I'm dying to try out. I started researching how to make a vegan quiche, some using solely chickpea flour, others using only tofu and some blending both together for the filling, I made a mixture using the chickpea flour and crumbled extra firm tofu into this for some added texture, much like the carrot tart at 222 VV.
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| Sun-dried Tomato, Mushroom & Broccoli Quiche |
Whilst researching I came across an ingredient that I'd heard of but never tried before - black salt (kala namak), it is slightly pinkish-purple in colour and has the distinct taste of eggs due to the sulfur content, making it the perfect addition to an egg imitation recipe and will most likely need to be ordered online; just make sure you get the correct product, as the first time I ordered I received Himalayan pink salt, through no fault of my own (the recipe will still taste great without it though - just use regular salt in it's place). Chickpea flour can be bought in health food shops and online, however if you have a nutribullet with a milling blade it can be made at home from dried chickpeas for a fraction of the cost - simply add to the cup with the milling blade and blend until smooth (it's pretty loud though, so you may need to cover your ears!).
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| Wholemeal Shortcrust Pastry |
If you've been missing quiche then you have to try this recipe out! This broccoli, mushroom and sun-dried tomato quiche will most definitely hit the spot, it's so creamy & flavourful and will leave you wanting more! I will admit that it can be slightly tedious due to the amount of steps and components of the dish, but I promise you that it's so worth it. I would also suggest that the filling could be an egg-cellent (sorry - I had to) tofu scramble recipe - for those of you who liked creamy scrambled eggs that weren't quite set, as opposed to firm and slightly browned eggs, this recipe will most definitely satisfy those lingering cravings. Being at home also means that I have a much wider range of kitchen appliances and tools, including weighing scales - for recipes like pastry which need exact quantities I feel it's important to measure out the ingredients to ensure consistency, so I have provided both the weight and cup measurements for this recipe.
You'll need:
- Mixing bowl
- Weighing scales/measuring cups
- Rolling Pin
- Saucepan
- Frying pan
- Spatula
- Whisk
- Chopping board
- Knife
- Butter knife
- Cling film
- Kitchen roll
Ingredients:
Pastry:
- 200g plain flour* (1 1/2 cups)
- 100g butter (1/2 cup)
- 60ml water (4 tbsp)
Vegetables:
- 1/2 red onion
- 200g mushrooms
- 1/2 head broccoli
- 6 sundried tomatoes
- Handful finely chopped parsley
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
Filling:
- 65g chickpea flour (8tbsp)
- 1 block extra firm tofu, drained
- 3 tbsp oil
- 250ml water (1 cup)
- 1 tsp stock powder like bouillon
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp mustard
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp black salt (or regular sea salt)
- 1 cup water
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease a pie tray.
- Drain the tofu, wrap in kitchen roll and press by placing a heavy object on top (I used a cast iron pan)
- Measure out the flour and butter and gently rub the butter into the flour using the ends of your fingertips. Then add the water 1 cold tbsp at a time and mix in with a butter knife, then combine with your hands into a ball. Roll the mixture out to fit your pie dish and carefully place into the dish by folding the dough in half and placing it in the center, then unfolding to fit to the sides, prick the dough with a fork and place in the oven for 10 minutes to firm up. After removing the crust turn the oven up to 200°C.
- Chop the onion and add to a frying pan on a medium heat with a splash of oil, then roughly chop the mushrooms and broccoli and add these too (the mushroom liquid will steam the broccoli), fry for a few minutes, finely chop the sundried tomatoes, add to the pan along with the nutritional yeast & parsley and remove from the heat.
- To make the chickpea filling add the chickpea flour and flavourings into a sauce pan on a medium heat with the oil and mix to form a paste, then gradually stir in the water (like a roux) and keep whisking until the mixture thickens, this could take a few minutes depending on the type of hob you have. When thick, crumble in the tofu in small pieces, mix together and then combine with the vegetable mixture.
- Pour the mixture into the part-baked pie crust and bake at 200°C for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown, wait for the quiche to cool slightly before attempting to cut. Enjoy hot or cold with a crisp summer salad. Cassidy xx
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| Sun-dried Tomato, Mushroom & Broccoli Quiche |
