Rain, Rugby and Slow Roast Tomato's

The rain splattered against the window. The leaves on the Rose Bush outside my window bounced up and down like a out of control Jack in the Box as the rain drops pelted them.
On any other early Summers day the sight of Rain would fill you full of dread. My shorts, much to the relief of the local female population would have to go back into the wardrobe and my sleeveless tee shirt where my impressive ' Muscle Guns' would be on show would have to remain hidden ! However today I had my day planned before the Rain came and it involved watching 4 international Rugby games ! Yes call me lazy but this is how my Saturday was to be. It was supposed to be like this but for some reason I had a food craving for quiche.
I know I am just a wild and crazy guy ! While some people wake up in the morning and decide "Right Darling I am off to Climb up Mount Everest, see you in a bit....now Toodle Pip !" I often wake up with a culinary craving and today it was going to be a quiche day.

To make the Pastry rub 250 grams of butter into 500 grams of seasoned plain flour until you have a breadcrumb like consistency. Now add about 50 mls of water and combine well until you have a ball of pastry. Now pop the Pastry into the fridge wrapped in cling film for about 30 minutes. meanwhile get yourself some ingredients to pop into your quiche. I love the old fashioned Quiche Lorraine which is just Bacon, Onion and Cheese. If your looking for an inspiring quiche of Super star Chef proportion then I am afraid there isn't one really. I often go into the pizza takeaway and look at their fillings for inspiration but its the plain and simple that work the best like ham and Mushroom, Roasted Peppers, Broccoli and Stilton Cheese are all winners. Surprisingly whenever I have made Tuna with Sweetcorn it just doesn't sell but trust me it tastes dam good too. If I want to be a bit adventurous then Chorizo and slow Roast Tomato is pretty good but I would stick to something traditional to start with.

A few fillings, Sauteed Onion, Bacon, and Chorizo.

After 30 minutes or so take your pastry out of the fridge and roll it out and fill your tart cases making sure you do not have any holes in the pastry or your egg mix will run out and that's a big no,no.
Now put them back into the fridge to rest for a further 30 minutes.

I always bake my Pastry bases first. I know some so called Chefs and Cooks who swear blind that they don't do this and their pastry cooks. They just put some grated cheese in the tart cases, then their fillings, then the egg and milk mix and then straight into the oven. I don't do this because the base of the pastry case does not cook. Every time I have seen one of these top chefs do this and when I have had a sneaky peak at the base of the quiche all I see is raw uncooked pastry. They tell me,
"F***K off it is cooked....its just the moisture from the ingredients !"
"Yes Chef I am sure you are right." I reply as I walk away with my smug face on !
Fact is it is not cooked so I basically add my baking beans (Small heavy objects placed into the tart case to prevent the base popping up.They are not usually beans but usually dried rice placed onto baking paper on top of the tart bases) into my tart bases and cook the pastry for about 12 minutes. I then take the beans out and cook for a further 8 minutes to cook the base on the top.
Now I add my grated Cheese and my chosen filling. On this occasion I made the quiche Loriane one and the chorizo and slow roast tomatoes.
Slow roasting your tomatoes for a few hours in a very low oven brings out a fantastic burst of sweetness and tomato-ness ( Ok another Kev made up Chef word ! Ha ha !). It takes a little while to make them but they are truly worth the wait.
Slice your tomatoes in half and place them on a tray with no seasoning or oil at all. Place the tray in your oven at a very low setting for about 2 hours until they look like they have been drained of all moisture. Do not be deceived by their appearance. These little babies are packed with flavour. Sometimes I make them with a thin slice of garlic placed on them and a few Thyme leaves which work brilliantly to.

The stronger the cheese the better.

The egg mix is very important. Too many eggs and you get scrambled eggs to few eggs and it will not set. I remember working at a School once and I had an assistant who was basically lazy and crap. A canny lass but the kind of assistant you just ended up doing all the things you asked her to do yourself because it was just easier ! Plus the School Dinner Lady Mafia of which she was a member of often could make Agency Chef's disappear if you upset them ! Anyway one day She came in with a hangover and was not much use. I said to her that she should just go home. Me being a caring soul. She replied,
"No way that's a waste of a sick day ! You never take a day off on the sick unless you need to be somewhere !" Unbelievable !
I had to give her a job to do so I asked her to make the egg mix up for the quiche I had made and pour it into the Quiche bases.
About 20 minutes later she shouted.
"How Chef the Quiche has not set."
I went over to look at the quiche in the oven. She was right.
"I did what you told me to do so its not my fault Chef." She was a bit cross.
I saw immediately what the problem had been.
"Did you whisk the eggs into the milk ?"
"erhhh no....."
She went Red with embarrassment. Then she chirped up,
"You never told me to !"
" O I am so sorry for thinking you had any cooking knowledge brain cells in that head of yours !!! Its my fault just let me go and stick my head in the big mixing bowl and you can set it to level 3 and pound my head with the dough hook on !!" I was trying to be funny but was a bit miffed.
"Dont tempt me fatty !" She replied.
Anyway back to the egg mix. Number one don't ask a kitchen assistant to do it but if you make up about a litre of this recipe you should have enough made up to make one 8inch quiche with it.
Pour 450mls of double cream into a mixing bowl and then add 450 mls of milk. Next crack into the bowl 6 full eggs and then 6 extra egg yolks. This will give you a lovely rich mix. Now whisk the eggs until they are combined with the milk and cream. Now pour into a jug and then fill your quiches until they are full. Now place in an oven at 180 degrees C for about 16 minutes. They are ready when the milk/cream and egg mix is set and has a pleasant wobble when shaken gently.

I love Quiche. You can buy the pastry already made if you want which will make the job easier and quicker but you will get a lot more satisfaction by making it yourself.
They tasted great to and just as I was wiping the last crumbs from my satisfied chops the Sun came out and it was time for a walk on the beach. I saved causing a scene by leaving my beach shorts in the wardrobe and put my jeans on instead....what a beautiful day except for England losing to the All Blacks at Rugby.....Enjoy.