Category Archives: Pies & Quiches

You say frittata, I say frittata

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I haven’t posted any of the dishes lately, but I have still been trying to cook at least one ‘proper’ lunch every weekend. No grand three course meals here, but just simple bruschetta, quiche, fancy toasties and what not.

This week I made these little spring vegetable frittata (or is that frittatas?). It’s a simple recipe – although I don’t have a fancy pan that can work on the stove top and in the oven, so I’ll admit I did end up with more dishes than I’d like on a Saturday afternoon.

It was worth it.

You could use almost any vegetables you like in this. I’d suggest keeping the potato, or even swapping it for kumara. A starchy vege anchors a frittata. Then you can really add what you like – I think courgette and asparagus are nice in spring, but let your tastes, budget, fridge contents and energy levels guide you!

Easy Spring Frittata
Serves 2

1 small-medium potato, scrubbed and chopped into small cubes
½ onion, finely chopped
½ capsicum, diced
½ a courgette, coarsely grated
4-5 spears asparagus, woody ends removed, chopped into 3-4cm lengths
handful spinach leaves, roughly shredded
3 eggs (or I used 2 eggs plus 1 white) , lightly beaten
small handful grated cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat your grill to about 200°(c). Heat a small frypan over medium heat. Cook the potato first – you have a couple of options here. You can cook it in the frypan until tender, and then add the other vegetables. Or, I was impatient, so just zapped the potato in the microwave for a couple of minutes, and then plonked it into the heated pan along with the onion, capsicum, courgette and asparagus. I found I didn’t actually need any oil; the moisture from the courgette created a bit of steam and that was enough to get the party started.

Cook for just 3-4 minutes, until the asparagus is tender. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Add the shredded spinach and stir for another minute or two, until it wilts. Then pour the lightly beaten eggs over. As I said, I don’t have a multi-function frypan, so I just kind of stirred the mixture around in the hot pan to start the eggs cooking, and then split the mixture into two ovenproof dishes. If you can leave yours in the frypan, cook it kind of like an omelette, tilting the pan to let the uncooked egg to run underneath, until the base is golden. Sprinkle your frypan or little dishes with grated cheese, and place in the oven. Grill until the frittata is golden and just set firm. You can serve hot or cold – it’s yummy with a bit of relish.

Spinach & Silverbeet for Lunch

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I’m trying to get into the habit of cooking one vaguely ‘proper’ meal for lunch over a weekend, so we sit down to eat together. Nothing fancy - soup, pie, quesadillas, bruschetta, that sort of thing. A little more effort than toast and vegemite.

It’s nice to have a hot lunch over winter, it’s nice to have an extra meal together, and it is an excellent way for me to find new uses for whatever veges are still left at the end of the weekend.

This week, it was time for a … pie? quiche? flan? tart? I can’t decide! I don’t really know the difference between them, so that means I get to choose, right? Quiche, I think. I’m in a French sort of mood today.

The spinach and feta combination is nothing new. You may remember it from, um, almost every cafe in the late 90s. But I’m a big believer in not fixing what ain’t broke. Oldies are often goodies. This time I added silverbeet, which usually works well where spinach works well. Plus, to make it a bit healthier, I pulled back on the cream and feta and added cottage cheese, which is still nice and creamy, but not so fatty and salty. Enjoy!

Silverbeet & Spinach Quiche

olive oil
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 bunch spinach, washed
4-5 silverbeet leaves, washed and white stems trimmed off
2 tsp mustard
2 eggs, lightly beaten
80g feta, roughly chopped or crumbled
150g light cottage cheese
1/4 cup light evaporated milk (or trim milk will work too)
2 Tbsp parmesan
salt and pepper to taste
4-5 sheets filo pastry
olive oil spray

Preheat oven to 180 (c). Heat a small dash of olive oil in a fry pan, and gently cook onion for 5 minutes or so until softened. Put the onion in a large bowl and set aside. Put the silverbeet and spinach in the fry pan, and add a splash of water. Steam until they wilt. Drain, cool, and squeeze out excess liquid. Roughly chop it up and place in the bowl with the onion.

Add the mustard, eggs, feta, cottage cheese, milk and parmesan, and mix well. I had run out, but if you have pinenuts, chuck a handful of those in too. Season to taste – for me, the feta is salty enough, but freshly ground pepper is welcome. Set aside for a moment.

Lightly spray a loose-bottomed quiche or tart pan with cooking spray. Place one sheet of filo pastry down to line the dish, spray again and add another sheet, repeating until the sheets are stacked up, overlapping, so that the pan is lined. Spread with the pie filling mixture, and scrunch the edges of the filo shell around to make a funky crust.

Bake for about 25 minutes, until the filling is set. Serves 4 for lunch if you make a salad to go with it. Bon appetit!

 

 

 

Pumpkin & Pastrami Tartlets

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These little filo tart cases are really good for cocktail parties, or you can use them as a dinner party first course. They are waaay healthier than shortcrust or flaky pastry, too. I used a warming pumpkin and pastrami filling, but you can fill them with whatever you want!

Pumpkin & Pastrami Tartlets (makes 24)

3 sheets filo pastry
cooking oil spray
300g pumpkin, diced
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp chilli powder
salt and pepper, to taste
6 slices pastrami, cut into quarters
approx 1/2 cup light sour cream

Preheat the oven to 180 (c). Spray 2x 12-hole mini-muffin tins lightly.

Place the first filo sheet on a clean, dry surface and spray lightly with oil. Place the second sheet on top, and spray again. Place the third sheet on top. Mark a grid pattern and cut the stack into 24 squares, each 6cmx6cm (so eight squares across the long side and three across the short side).

Carefully place each little square into the muffin holes and lightly spray the cases again. Bake for about 5 minutes, until golden. Remove from the oven and let them cool in the tin until you’re ready to fill them. You can do this in advance.

Meanwhile, microwave the pumpkin for about 3 minutes, or until tender. Mash with a fork and mix in the nutmeg and chilli powder, and season to taste. Spoon a little of this mixture into each tartlet case, with a little piece of pastrami. Top with a small teaspoonful of sour cream. Garnish with fresh herb sprigs if you have some handy.