Fennel an

Fennel and leek are mild and work well together in this quiche and the addition of the Cheddar cheese, Kransky and mushrooms add bursts of extra flavour.

This is an easy quiche to make because all the elements can be prepared ahead, even the shortcrust pastry, leaving only the assembly and the whisking of the eggs and cream.

If you don’t have cream in the fridge, a good substitute is half Greek yoghurt, half full cream milk blended together with a fork.The Kransky can be replaced by any good smoked sausage or double smoke ham.

The flavours of each of the elements work so well together and when lovingly prepared combine to make a really delicious quiche for lunch served with vegetables or a green salad.

Easy Vegetable and Sausage Quiche

Ingredients:

Shortcrust Pastry:

• 1 cup plain flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 42g butter
• 6 Tblsp chilled water

Quiche Filling:

• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 180mls cream or 90ml milk and 90ml Greek Yoghurt
• 100g cheese, thickly grated
• 2 Tblsp Olive oil
• 1/4 large fennel, thinly sliced
• 1 leek, halved, washed and sliced thinly
• 1 Kransky or other Smoked sausage, sliced or double smoked ham, sliced on the diagonal
• 6 cap mushrooms, cleaned with damp kitchen paper, sliced
• 1 large garlic clove
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• a small bunch of fresh parsley, finely chopped
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Preparing the Fennel and Leek:

1 Preheat oven to 200º C F

2 Prepare the leek by slicing it in half lengthwise and washing well between the layers to remove any soil particles

3 Slice the leek into 1 cm slices across the leek

4 Slice the fennel thinly

5 Place the fennel and leek slices in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil, mixing the oil through the slices

6 Drizzle olive oil over the base of an oven tray and scatter the slices of fennel and leek over the tray

7 Season with freshly ground black pepper

8 Cover tightly with foil and bake for 15-20 minutes until the fennel and leek is soft and set aside to cool

9. Continue by preparing the pastry

Making the Pastry:

1. Using a food processor with the  chopping blade, add flour and salt and securing the cover, process for 5 seconds. (equivalent to sifting)
2. Add butter and process until combined, about 15 seconds
3. Add the chilled water  a little at a time through the feed tube and process until the pastry forms a ball.
4. Remove and cover the pastry ball in cling wrap and rest it for half and hour in the fridge

5. While the pastry is resting continue to prepare the other elements of the quiche

Preparing the Smoked Sausage and Mushrooms

1 Cut the Kransky or other smoked sausage in slices slightly on the diagonal and slice the mushrooms

2. Place a tablespoon of olive oil and a small knob of butter into a saucepan over a medium heat

3. Cook the crushed garlic in the oil moving it around for a minute moving the pieces around to flavour the oil

4. Set a timer for 2 minutes then put in the mushrooms and chopped parsley with a teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper and cook for 2 minutes stirring them around.

When the timer rings and the 2 minutes are up, quickly remove the mushrooms to a flat plate to cool

5. Add a little more oil to the same saucepan and when it is hot cook the Kransky slices until they are well coloured

6. Set the Kransky aside to cool and continue to prepare the quiche base

Lining the Tart Dish:

1. Using a tart dish, trace and cut a circle of baking paper to the size of the base
2. Spray the tart pan with olive oil spray and line the base with the circle of baking paper
3. On a floured board, roll out the pastry into a circle large enough for the quiche pan
4. Press the pastry carefully into the tart dish, pushing gently into the edges to remove any air bubbles
5. Trim off the excess at the edge of the tart dish
6. Prick over the pastry with a fork, going over the whole pastry making sure not to pierce the pastry the whole way through

Assembling the Quiche:

Preheat oven to 200C and place a heavy baking tray into it when Step 3 is finished (about 5 minute before completely filling the quiche dish)

1 Cover the bottom of the quiche with the grated Cheddar cheese

2. Put the leeks and fennel over the cheese

3. Scatter the Kransky and the mushrooms over the leeks and fennel

4. Separate the yolks from the whites and place the whites into a large bowl

5. Add a pinch of salt and whisk the whites till light and foaming

6. In another bowl, beat the egg yolks with a fork and add the cream combining everything well

7. Add to the egg whites and whisk till well combined

8. Spoon the egg/cream mixture over the quiche ingredients covering everything well

9. Carefully place onto the heated tray in the preheated oven at 200C and bake for 10 minutes, then lower the heat to 180C and bake for a further 20-25 minutes until the a skewer comes out cleanly and all parts of the quiche are set. Check from time to time during baking and cover with a piece of foil if the quiche is browning too quickly

10. When the quiche is cooked remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving

11. Serve with vegetables or a green garden salad and enjoy