Do real men eat Quiche?

How to make a man sized quiche

Its a bit of a poser this one, “Do real men eat quiche”? Well, to my mind, plonk a large slice of quiche, containing, bacon, eggs, mushrooms, cheese etc, in front of them & as long as you call it a breakfast quiche & they are not vegetarian, they probably do.  Just look at it this way, the quiche in the header photo is just, breakfast on a pastry plate!

Below, you will find the recipe for a man sized breakfast Quiche. The pastry recipe you will find as a previous   Christmascountdown post, by clicking the link.  At the bottom of the page, you will also find some variations, which may also help you use up your Festive leftovers, when the time comes.

Bacon & Eggs. Tempted?

Big Breakfast Quiche  

Time taken 45 mins + cooking & chilling.  Equipment 1. 13cm Deep fill flan tin.

225g Short crust pastry   Follow the link for recipe 

200g Bacon off cuts. (Cheaply bought from your butcher. You get nice chunky bits)  Dry fried.

5, Large Free range eggs

200 ml Milk

200g Chestnut Mushrooms, sauted

2 Fresh Tomatoes, Sliced

150g Grated Cheddar Cheese

1 Tab Olive oil.

Seasoning + (Cayenne pepper, nutmeg & thyme if liked)

• 

  Whisk me

• 

  Love a chunk of bacon

• 

  Cover me with cheese

METHOD

Make the pastry, according to the recipe, pop in the fridge to chill while you a preparing the filling.

Preheat the oven to 200f 400c Gas 6  With a large tin baking tray inside.

Dry fry the bacon, remove & drain on kitchen paper add, 1tbspn oil to the pan & quickly saute the mushrooms.

Lightly grease flan tin with oil.

Line the tin with pastry, crimp the edges & placed the cooled bacon & mushrooms on the base.

Beat together eggs, milk & seasonings, pour into the tin.

Place the tomato slices on top & spinkle with the grated cheese.

Carefully place on the heated tray, in the oven & bake at the above temprature for 15mins. Reduce the temp to 180c 350f Gas 4 & bake for a futher 25 – 30mins, until puffed up & golden brown.

Serve to your man with a side of baked beans.

Variations:

 Replace the bacon & veg with smoked salmon, chopped dill & blanched fennel.  Use 2 Whole Eggs & yolks of 3. Replace 1/2 the milk with double cream. Omit Cheese.

Use, pitted black olives, sundried tomatoes, garlic, roasted green peppers & Bazil. Top with Grated Parmesan.

Blanch Tenderstem Broccoli Spears, add to pastry shell & top with crumbled Blue Cheese.

Use, chopped left over turkey & veg. Cheat & pour over a can of Cambells Condensed Chicken Soup. Use left over pastry to make a lid. ( Roll trimming to the size of your tin) Place on top ofthe filling, brush with milk & make a small steam hole in the middle of the lid. You now have a turkey & Veg pie. And YES real men do eat these.

Don’t  forget, you can always line a small patty tray to create, individual tartlets. Great with drinks.

If you have any questions, please ask, by leaving a comment in the box below.

Until tomorrow.

#Recipe Spicy Chickpea, Parsnip – Aubergine

Hey check out this video I made with Quik: https://quik.gopro.com/v/qPkNjlkbHH/

Warm Butternut Squash & Black Kale Salad

Salad, probably doesn’t spring to mind when you are thinking of warming winter food!

A bowl of goodness

We have an abundance of colourful, healthy vegetables available at this time of the year just crying out to be made into tasty dishes, which can be served either on their own as a side or turned into a main dish, with the addition of , meat, fish, cheese, pulses, grains or what ever takes your fancy. Add some warming spices and there you have it, an easy, healthy meal.

Serves 4,  Gluten free, Dairy Free, Vegetarian, Vegan,  Time Taken  40 mins

INGREDIENTS:

5 Tbspns Walnut Oil

1 Butternut Squash, Peeled, halved, seeds removed, cut into small chunks

1 Red Pepper, de-seeded & cut into small chunks

2 Large Red Onions, Peeled & thinly sliced

Bag of Black Kale, Washed & Sliced. I like to leave the stems in for a bit of crunch.

2 Cloves Garlic, peeled & chopped

2 Tbspns Walnuts

1 tspn Sumac

2 Tbspns Pomegranate Molasses or 2 taste

METHOD:

Heat the oil over a medium heat, add the onions a fry covered, for 5 mins, stirring occasionally, add the squash & fry covered for a further 10 mins.

A change from Sage & onion

Add Squash

Add red Peppers

Remove the cover, turn up the heat & add the red pepper & sumac, stir frying for a couple of mins.

Add the kale & garlic & walnuts & stir fry for a further 5 mins, Season to taste. Remove from heat & stir in the Pomegranate Molasses.

Serve at once.  I topped mine with some crumbled danish blue cheese, but you can add what ever takes your fancy.  As well as being a healthy meal, it also adds a liitle bit of colour to our dull winter days. Enjoy.

Healthy, colourful mix of winter veg

 

 

 

 

Dying for Dessert

Recipe,Apple Shortcake

Good afternoon foodies. The weekend is here. As you might have a little more time on your hands, I thought you may like a recipe which is equally good served hot for a Sunday Lunch dessert, or cold as a tea time treat.

APPLE & CLOTTED CREAM SHORTCAKE.  Serves 4. Vegetarian. Time taken 20 mins +  30 mins cooking.  Oven temp 200c ,Gas 6 , 400F    18 cm shallow cake tin.

INGREDIENTS: SHORTCAKE

130g Plain Flour

2 tspns Baking Powder

1tbspn Caster Sugar

50g Butter

5 Tbpns Milk

Pinch of Salt

INGREDIENTS: TOPPING

3, Eating Apples. Cored, peeled & cut into thin wedges.

150ml Double or Clotted Cream

75g Soft Brown Sugar

2 Large Egg Yolks.  Use the whites for meringues, or add to scrambled eggs or an omelette

1/4tspn Freshly grated Nutmeg

METHOD.

Put all the ingredients, except the milk) in a food processor & pulse until the mix becomes fine breadcrumbs. Add the milk, pulse to mix to a smooth dough. Remove from processor & spread over the bottom & up the sides of the tin.

Beat together the topping ingredients.

Arrange the apple over the top of the shortcake & pour over the cream mixture.

Place in the centre of a preheated oven, bake for 30-40mins, lowering the temperature to 180c, Gas 4, 350F after 15mins.  Until golden brown.

You can alter the fruit in this recipe according to whats in season. In the summer, raspberries are absolutely delicious especially served with ice cream & raspberry liqueur.

If you have made this recipe, please leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Happy Sunday Foodies

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Get Stuffing.

The season to be jolly is rapidly approaching, so I thought in the run up to Christmas & throughout January I will share with you some of my recipes, hopefully to inspire you and also to help you #loveyourleftovers.

This week, its STUFFING. Three recipes to help you add a different way to “Stuff that bird”.

Always keep in mind that stuffing can be used in numerous ways.   Try stuffing different vegetables & baking them.  A good hearty stew, either with meat, poultry or vegetables can be turned into a flavoursome dish with the addition of some homemade stuffing balls, dropped into the pan 30 mins before the end of the cooking time. A healthier option to dumplings.

APRICOT & PISTACHIO STUFFING  *

50g Butter or Olive oil

1 Large Onion, peeled & finely chopped

2, Stalks Celery, Finely chopped

150g Dried Apricots, chopped

200g Breadcrumbs,

Grated rind & juice of 1 Orange

150g Pistachio Nuts, Shelled & chopped

Chopped, Fresh Parsley & Thyme

Chicken Stock or White wine.

Seasoning.

METHOD:

Heat the oil & better in a pan & fry onion & celery until golden.

Put the remaining ingredients in the pan & mix well until all ingredients are combined.

If you fell the mixture is to dry, add a little stock or white wine.

 

SWEET POTATO & LIVER STUFFING   *

1kg Sweet Potato, freshly cooked

50g Butter Softened

1 Large Onion, peeled & finely grated

Liver from the Turkey, chopped

2 Eggs, beaten

2 Tbspns Chopped fresh, Parsley

1 Tbspn Chopped fresh Sage

Sprinkle of Chilli Flakes, or more according to taste,

Seasoning

METHOD:

Mash the potatoes finely, add all remaining ingredients & mix well. Leave until cold before using.

 

SAVOURY RICE STUFFING.  *

1 Large Onion, peeled & chopped

1 Large Yellow Pepper, deseeded & finely chopped

100g Smoked bacon lardons

1 Tbspn Olive oil

2 Large Tomatoes, skinned & chopped

Finely chopped Basil & Oregano

200g boiled brown basmatti  Rice (cooked weight)

Seasoning to taste.

METHOD:

Heat the oil in a pan & slowly fry the onion, bacon & pepper until the onion is golden.

Remove from heat & stir in the rest of the ingredients until well combined.

Leave until cold before using.

*   Food Hygiene. Always remember when making stuffing in advance, to cover & store in the fridge until needed, especially those containing raw meat or rice.

Leg or Breast?

Nice big bird

Left over Salad