Roast spring onion and fennel quiche with a beetroot pastry

by Dominic Franks from DomInTheKitchen.com @DomInTheKitchen

This roast spring onion and fennel quiche with beetroot pastry is my first quiche of the year and it’s a real celebration of spring vegetables. I also went all-in with the most wonderful earthy pastry made with some leftover roasted beetroots.  It’s divine and I’m definitely going to be adding more roasted vegetables to pastry in the future. It not only adds a wonderful taste, but a gorgeous texture too.

The pastry and the quiche are packed with fresh herbs which I feel add to the wonderful spring flavors.  I adore the Cole & Mason Tealby Freshly Cut Herb Keeper which means I can keep my herbs fresh in the fridge for longer.

Kitchen tools that could be useful:
Tealby Freshly Cut Herb Keeper

Prep:  15 minutes 
Cooking time: 35 - 45 minutes 
Difficulty: Easy
Serves: 4

For the beetroot pastry:

• 150g plain flour
• 100g rye flour
• 150g butter
• 2 roasted beetroot (or 1 pre-cooked steamed beetroot)
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh herbs – I used thyme and rosemary.
• water to mix.

For the filling:

• 4 spring onions sliced in half lengthways.
• 1 fennel bulb cut into wedges
• 5 garlic cloves
• finely chopped fresh rosemary and thyme
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 4 eggs – beaten
• 220ml Greek Yoghurt
• 100g stilton – broken into chunks (or gorgonzola!)
• a little milk to loosen the mix

Step 1: Make the beetroot pastry.

The pastry really needs to be made in a food processor or similar. Simply place the beetroot, flour and butter into the processor and whizz until it becomes a fine pink powder (it may clump slightly which is fine.) Add a dash of water and whizz again until a ball of dough forms.  You may need to add a little more water to get a nice smooth dough that holds together. Wrap in cling film and pop in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Step 2: Roast the vegetables

Pre-heat the oven to 160C fan. Lay the onions, fennel and garlic onto a roasting dish and sprinkle with the fresh herbs and a little salt and pepper.  Drizzle with olive oil and stir well, coating all the vegetables . Roast for 30 minutes until the vegetables are tender.

Step 3: Roll out and blind bake.

Now your pastry should be ready, roll it out and line your greased quiche pan. place some baking beans on top of the pastry and blind bake for 15 minutes on 150C. Once your pastry is turning golden, take it out of the oven and set aside.

Step 4: Make the egg batter

In a large bowl, beat the eggs into the yoghurt.  Add a dash of milk if needed, to slightly slacken the mix.  

Step 5: Build the quiche and bake

Place the roasted vegetables into the base of the pastry case and pour the yoghurt egg mix all over.  Crumble the cheese over the top, I like to leave it quite chunky but tuck it into random places.  Bake on 325C for about 25-35 minutes until golden and risen, set aside on a wire rack to cool.  The quiche should easily slide out of the tin.

Tip: When roasting the vegetables, you may need to remove the onions after 20 minutes to stop them burning – simply set them aside on a plate and return the dish to the oven. The pastry can be made 24 hours ahead and can be frozen in the pastry case and baked directly from the freezer.