Fast Food
Having a little one under your feet means that family lunches have got to be fast to put together and for this reason alone, I love this recipe.
I made it when my Mum came to stay, and she was amazed at how quickly it went into the oven. The fact that it is also a fabulous way to get in some extra veg, is an added bonus.
Made with shop bought ready rolled puff pastry, it might lose a bit of the traditional pastry crunch, but it more than makes up for this in speed - no pastry chilling, no baking blind etc - sold yet?
You can eat it warm out of the oven, cold as part of a picnic - or for a real 'school dinner' feel, smothered in baked beans. Yes, I really did do that and it was AMAZING.
Heinz beans are definitely one of the things I have realised I miss, but at over £2 a tin, this lowly student fodder has now become a luxury.
Anyway, for the recipe:
What you'll need:
Loose bottomed cake tin for ease (I think mine is about 20 inches)
1 sheet puff pastry
1/2 cup double cream
1/2 cup whole milk
3 large eggs
1 cup cheese (any hard cheese will do but I like a mix of cheddar and gruyere)
Lots of black pepper
Herbs for flavour (thyme works well)
Sprinkle of salt (more if you are not cooking for children)
Extras (anything you have knocking about is great for this, as long as it is cooked first - so tomatoes, onions, courgettes as I have used here, but I have also made it with asparagus. Chicken, ham or cooked sausage would also work well, as would smoked salmon)
What do to:
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees.
Grease and line your tin.
Lay your pastry in the tin and roll over the edges to make a 'crust' - you might need to trim off excess pastry depending on the size of your tin.
Whisk eggs, cream, milk & cheese together. Add in any extras*.
Season egg mix, pour into the pastry and place in the oven.
Leave in oven for approx. 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the centre is firm.
*If you want a 'pretty-ish' looking topping, leave adding your veg etc until about 15 mins in when you can arrange them nicely on the top without anything stinking too much!
Enjoy,
Rxx