I
t is a truth universally acknowledged that a normal sized woman in possession of a glossy magazine must be in want of a miracle diet. Those glossies want you to feel overweight so that you will buy them for their screaming cover promises to tell you how to lose half your body weight in a week. Luckily, I read Jane Austen and cookery books more than Vogue and celebrity magazines, so I developed a healthy interest in food and cooking. However, a good few years ago I read a phrase in some glossy which continues to haunt me: Pastry is a nutritional nightmare in anyone s book. This recipe came about due to it echoing around my head while wanting quiche and looking at a packet of tortilla wraps.
What to do:
This recipe makes enough for four people, or six as part of a meal.
In a separate bowl whip up the eggs, milk, salt and pepper then pour into the dish.
Preparation time is about 40 minutes. 15 for preparation, 25 for baking.
Crumble pieces of stilton all over the quiche. If you don t like stilton then any hard cheese will do; I recommend good old cheddar.
Ingredients: 2-3 tortillas 6 eggs 1 or 2 heads of broccoli 2 onions A tablespoon or two of tomato paste 2 handfuls of walnuts A splosh (tablespoonish) of milk Stilton cheese. The amount depends on how much you like it. (i.e. use more cheese if you re that sort of person) Vegetable oil, enough to fry the onions A teaspoon and a bit of brown sugar Salt and pepper (more salt than pepper in my opinion, but it s up to you) You will also need:
An oven proof dish. If you have a choice of sizes then choose the one that looks as though a quarter of it would be a generous helping of quiche. The best size is one where a tortilla wrap will cover the base and go up the sides to the lip of the dish. If you don t have this then any size that fits in your oven will do as the wraps can be layered to cover the whole dish.
Cut the broccoli into manageable pieces and steam it until it s cooked but still very firm. Put it to one side, but not under the hot water or it will continue to cook! Chop the onions then fry them gently with the sugar until they start to caramelize. Place the tortillas in the dish. Spread a thin layer of tomato paste over the base. Spoon in the onions evenly, then the walnuts on top of them, finishing off with the broccoli. If you like charred (i.e. burned) broccoli, as I do, then leave some parts sticking out.
Bake this in an oven preheated to about 500̊(280 C) Check it after about 20 minutes. It s ready when the eggs have set and the top is nicely golden. To double check that this recipe works I made it again with a friend who doesn t like bleu cheese but had a hankering for feta. So I did more or less the same thing but swapped the cheese, removed the walnuts and instead of caramelizing the onions I chopped them extremely finely and layered them over the broccoli to make a sharper taste. I have a bit of a fear of making the same thing twice... The way I see it each meal is unique. Quiche is nice with chips. The moral of the story is summed up by a quote from the Baz Luhrmann song, Everybody s Free (To Wear Sunscreen): Don t read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.