ROAST MUSHROOM & GRUYERE QUICHE

This quiche is deliciously decadent and fairly simple to make, you need to start by making the pastry, blind baking it and sealing it with an egg wash, this ensures you end up with a lovely crisp base and not a soggy bottom.

The filling is lusciously creamy and cheesy with a deep mushroom flavour. The best way to achieve a great mushroom flavour is by baking the mushrooms first, rather than frying them as there is a tendency to keep shaking the pan, this releases water from the mushrooms and they can boil and lose their flavour. Give them a quick flash in a frying pan after roasting to give them some colour.

Ingredients: Pastry

• 250g Plain Flour
• 125g Salted Butter Chopped into pieces
• 1 Egg
• Splash of water

I always make my pastry using a food processor as it's faster and minimises the risk of overworking the pastry which is so easy to do when making it by hand. 

1. Add the flour and chopped butter to the processor, then pulse until you have a breadcrumb consistency.
2. Then add the egg and whizz until it starts to come together, if it looks too dry add a splash of water and quickly blitz until it comes together in a ball. 
3. Remove from the processor quickly form into a soft ball, cover with cling film and pop in the fridge for half an hour. 
4. Remove you pastry from the fridge and roll out on a lightly floured surface into a circle about 5cm larger than a 23cm loose bottomed fluted tin. 
5. Then using your rolling pin, carefully lift the pastry over the tin and lower gently. Cut a scrap of pastry off and form into a ball and use this to press the pastry into the tin. It's easier than using your fingers as you can easily puncture the pastry with your fingers.
6. Once neatly pressed in and leaving a small over hang, line with baking parchment and fill with baking beans, then place in a pre-heated oven (180c/fan, 200c/Gas 6) for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and lift out the baking parchment then pop back in the oven for a further 5 minutes until lightly golden. Leave to cool, then egg wash the case to seal it.
7. Once cooled using a sharp knife cut off the overhang of pastry so you have a neatly defined edge. You can also use a potato peeler the remove the excess pastry.

Tip: If you don't want to use the pastry straight away, it can stay in the fridge for a couple of days or you can freeze it for up to a month.

Ingredients: Filling

• 250g Chestnut Mushrooms 
• 3 Eggs
• 284ml Double cream
• 140g Grated Gruyere 

1. Place the mushrooms on a baking tray and pop into your pre-heated oven for 5 minutes, remove, slice and flash in a really hot frying pan.
2. Crack your eggs into a bowl and whisk then add all of the cream and half of the grated cheese. Remember to season with a little salt and a good grinding of cracked black pepper.
3. Arrange the mushrooms in the tart case then pour over the egg mixture and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.
4. Carefully place back in the oven turning it down to 160c/fan 180c/Gas 5 and cook for 20 - 25 minutes, until just set in the middle.

Tip: Place the pastry case on the shelf in the oven then pour your egg mix in, doing this means you don't have to carry the full case to the oven and risk spilling it.

Enjoy with a fresh salad and crusty bread.