How to make quiche recipes

The timeless quiche is a versatile dish and one that invites cooks to get inventive with fillings. These four variations from the Great British Chefs mean there is something for everyone

A classic quiche recipe should be in every cook’s repertoire

Quiche is great for a picnic or a simple summer lunch. Try making your own shortcrust pastry with our guide and then follow the instructions for lining a tart tin.

This version is with asparagus and Parma ham but the principles are the same for other ingredients such as goat’s cheese, leek, spinach, mushrooms, cheddar and salmon, as well as the classic, quiche Lorraine.

500g of shortcrust pastry
18 asparagus spears
​150g of Parma ham (optional)
2 eggs
4 egg yolks, plus 1 yolk for brushing the pastry
​200g of mascarpone
​200ml of double cream
4 spring onions, finely sliced
20g of chives, finely chopped
Salt
Pepper

Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Grease and flour a 23cm fluted tart tin and roll out the pastry to a thickness of 0.5cm.

Place the pastry in the tin and press into the sides. Line with foil and fill with baking beads or dried beans and bake for 20 minutes until the pastry is golden brown around the edges.

Take the tin out of the oven and remove the baking beads and foil. Brush the pastry with beaten egg yolk and return to the oven for 2 more minutes then leave to cool. Reduce the oven to 160C/gas mark 3.

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the asparagus for 2-3 minutes until tender but still a little crunchy. Refresh in iced water then dry on kitchen paper.

Mix the eggs, yolks, mascarpone, spring onions and chives together in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Lay the asparagus spears on the pastry and arrange the Parma ham (if using) around them.

Carefully pour in the egg mixture into the pastry case and bake for 25-30 minutes until the quiche is set in the middle. Leave to cool before serving.

Variations: Try using different vegetables in your quiche such as peas, broad beans and broccoli. You could also try adding grated cheese for extra flavour.

Crustless Quorn and vegetable quiche by Rosana McPhee

With the temperature rising as we approach the summer days, there is no better easy and tasty lunch. This dish was inspired by the famous and well-loved dish, the quiche Lorraine.

Originally, the quiche was an open pastry case filled with cream, milk and eggs with smoked bacon. Only later was the cheese added, and nowadays there are a lot of variations on the classic.

The quiche Lorraine is a traditional recipe from the region in the northeast of France of the same name. It’s a salty pie case covered with a mixture of cream and eggs, bacon, black pepper and nutmeg. The quiche Lorraine was usually served hot as a main dish, but lately has become popular as a cold starter or party snack.

This recipe is really just a lighter (no cream) tart filling, with some colourful vegetables and minced Quorn for those avoiding meat but who still want to enjoy some low-calorie protein. Thanks to the lack of crust in this quiche, it is also gluten-free.

Bon appétit!

5 eggs, fresh, large and organic
​118ml of full-fat milk
½ red pepper, diced
3tbsp of thyme
150g of Quorn mince
180g of hard cheese, preferably vegetarian, grated
100g of carrots, grated (about 2 medium carrots)
150g of courgette, grated (about 2 medium courgettes)
1 small red onion, finely sliced
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven 200C/gas mark 6. 

 

After grating the courgette, pat dry in a clean towel to remove the excess moisture. In a bowl, beat the eggs and add the milk, salt and pepper.

 

Continue beating and add the Quorn mince, carrots, courgette, pepper, cheese and thyme. Mix well and pour the mixture into a buttered ovenproof dish. Place the sliced red onions on top.

 

Lightly sprinkle with cheese and thyme and place in the oven for about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, rest for 5 minutes and serve with salad.

 

 

Cheshire cheese and English garden herb quiches by Helen Graves

These miniature quiches are easy to make, and quick, too, if you use a roll of shop-bought pastry. The Cheshire cheese used here is a reference to the cat with the largest grin in Alice in Wonderland, but it also happens to work very well in the recipe. Handy, that. It’s a mild, crumbly cheese, which brings some lightness to the cream filling.

The selection of garden herbs below is particularly lovely, although feel free to leave out the chervil if you can’t find it. These are rustic little quiches, so don’t worry about making them too neat and tidy; they look distinctly more “Mad Hatter’s Tea Party” when left untrimmed.

1 small onion, finely chopped
15g of butter
150ml of single cream
2 large eggs, plus one extra, beaten
70g of Cheshire cheese, crumbled
1tbsp of parsley
1tbsp of chives
1tbsp of chervil
320g of shortcrust pastry, 1 pack
Flour, for dusting
Oil, for greasing

Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6. Melt the butter in a frying pan and cook the onion until soft but not coloured. Set aside and leave to cool.

 

Beat the eggs lightly, then mix in the cheese, cream, herbs and onion (once cooled). Season with pepper and just a little salt (the cheese is salty already).

 

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry to roughly the thickness of a 2 pence piece. Using a cutter (or other circular object) roughly 5 inches in diameter, cut out 10 circles of pastry (you may have a slightly different amount depending on the thickness of your pastry).

 

Oil a muffin or tart tin. Carefully place the pastry into the tin, taking care not to break it – just patch up with more pastry if you do. Don’t worry if the edges overhang, as this adds to the “Mad Hatter’s” charm of the finished quiches. Brush the edges with egg and divide the filling between the cases, taking care not to over-fill.

 

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

 

 

Smoked salmon and leek quiche by Steven Doherty

Crumbly pastry with a creamy, rich filling – a classic quiche recipe should be in every cook’s repertoire, ready for a simple lunch or packed away for a picnic. Steven Doherty’s smoked salmon and leek quiche recipe is wonderfully easy to make at home, using ready-made pastry for the base and a custard filling studded with softened leeks and luxurious folds of smoked salmon.

1 shortcrust pastry sheet
​600ml of double cream
4 eggs
5 egg yolks
1 pinch of cayenne pepper
1 pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
​100g of grated Parmesan
1 leek, split lengthways, washed and finely sliced
​250g of smoked salmon, chopped
Sunflower oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 150C/gas mark 2.

Line a loose-bottomed fluted flan tin with the ready-rolled pastry, pushing it carefully into the edges and leaving about 2cm overhang all the way around. Line the pastry with baking paper and fill with baking beans. Blind bake for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, add a dash of sunflower oil to a pan and place over a medium heat. Gently sweat down the sliced leek for 5 minutes without allowing it to colour. Season lightly, then set aside and allow to cool. After 30 minutes, remove the pastry case and increase the oven temperature to 165C/gas mark 3.

In a large bowl, mix together the cream, whole eggs and 4 of the egg yolks. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve to help break up the eggs and ensure there are no bits of shell. Stir through the cayenne pepper, nutmeg, Parmesan and a little pinch of salt.

Remove the baking beans and paper from the pastry case. Trim the overhanging edges and check for any gaps in the base – these can be filled with a little extra raw pastry if needed. Beat the remaining egg yolk and brush over the base. Place the empty glazed case in the oven for 2 minutes to seal.

Mix the cooled leeks and smoked salmon pieces through the cream mixture until evenly combined. Remove the glazed pastry case from the oven and pour in the cream mixture. Return to the oven and bake for 1 hour until golden and firm.

Allow the cooked quiche to rest for at least 30-45 minutes before removing from the tin and cutting into slices to serve.

Recipes by Great British Chefs. Visit their site for more quiche recipes