Last Sunday we took my lovely parents on a day trip to the country. The last time we had gone through Taradale we drove past this little bush glade and though it would be a sweet place to have a little picnic of quiche and tea brewed in Dylan’s trusty bush buddy stove. When we stopped we hadn’t anticipated such yelps of delight from the back seat. My parents are members of the Australian Native Plants Society you see and we had inadvertently taken them to a place brimming with pretties for them to discover. It was much like a treasure hunt and the mood was contagious, I soon found myself trying to find different flowers species to report back.

On venturing deeper into the bush we found an odd assortment of burnt and rusted tin cans, shredded rags hanging from trees, old twisted straps of metal and an old vacuum cleaner. Iwas a little bit eerie and unsettling and I was glad we weren’t caught out there on a dark and stormy night.

 

Mushroom and Spinach Quiche Recipe

originally from this recipe but made vegetarian

makes about 16 quiches

 

Dough

1 2/3 cups plain flour

125g unsalted butter straight from the fridge, chopped

pinch of salt

1 egg from the fridge

1 tbs chilled water

I’ve read that the secret to a successful shortcrust pastry is keeping the ingredients cold and minimise handling, you don’t want a tough dough!

Mix flour, butter and salt in a food processor until it has the consistency of breadcrumbs.

Whisk egg and water in a bowl and then slowly add to the food processor mixture and mix until forms large clumps.

With hands combine into a ball and gently knead together (for no longer than 1 minute), form into a disk and refrigerate for 30 minutes or more.

Preheat over to 200°C and divide the dough into small balls and roll out to form a 5mm thick circle, press each circle into the muffin tray and trim off excess pastry. (I didn’t bother doing this, but the quiches were a little pastry heavy so I would next time)

Prick the base with a fork to stop it from bubbling (at this point you are meant to line each base with baking paper and weight with beans, but I really can never be bothered and it seems fine).

Bake for 15mins.

 

Filling

8  shallots, halved

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

16 Swiss brown mushrooms, sliced

a bunch of spinach leaves, finely chopped

a bunch of chives and parsley, finely chopped

6 free-range eggs

250g crème fraîche

Place halved shallots in a baking pan and drizzle with olive oil, bake for 20 minutes then season with salt and splash with balsamic vinegar and cook for a further 10 minutes until caramelised.

Add mushrooms to a frying pan and cook in oil until golden, about 5 minutes, then add spinach and half the herbs and cook for a further minute.

Whisk eggs, crème fraîche and remaining herbs together.

Divide mushroom mixture evenly into the pastry cases and then cover with egg mixture and top with shallots.

Bake for 15 minutes, then remove from oven and allow to set, about 5 minutes more. I always have to avoid the temptation to cook longer as it is still wobbly, but it quickly solidifies.

 

Enjoy! The caramelised shallots are delicious!