According to the Plant to Plate Calendar by our very own gardening guru, Mark Lane, and baking expert, Val Stones, the vegetable to harvest in March is purple-sprouting broccoli. Yum!
Great British Bake Off star Val has whipped up a fresh and fabulous recipe for salmon and broccoli quiche that’s perfect for a picnic.
Broccoli and salmon are great ingredients to use in everyday cooking – even though the cream in this recipe is a treat. Broccoli is full of vitamins and salmon has essential fatty acids which are said to be great at reducing inflammation and lowering blood pressure. This recipe is for special occasions, but it’s a perfect picnic treat as Spring approaches.
Serving suggestions and timings
- Serves: 8
- Preparation and resting time: 50 minutes
- Baking time: 45 minutes
Equipment
- A large quiche/flan baking tin, greased well
- A steamer
- A baking sheet to pre-heat
- Baking beans or a mixture of dried peas or risotto rice
Ingredients
For the pastry:
- 250g plain flour
- 125g butter, cubed
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 medium egg, lightly beaten
- 50ml chilled water
For the filling:
- A knob of butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 shallot
- 1 close of garlic
- 200g purple-sprouting broccoli
- 4 medium eggs, lightly beaten
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 230ml single cream
- 1 tsp fresh chives, finely chopped
- 150g smoked salmon
- 12 cherry tomatoes (cut in half) to decorate
Method
- To make the pastry, place the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the cubed butter and lightly rub the mixture together until it resembles breadcrumbs
- Make a well in the middle of the mixture. Pour in the egg and 40ml of the water to bind the pastry into a firm dough. Add the remaining water if necessary
- Turn the mixture onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Flatten the pastry to the size of a saucer, wrap in cling film and chill for 20 minutes
- Place the oil and butter in a frying pan. Gently heat the shallot and garlic until translucent. Set aside to cool
- Steam the broccoli over a pan of boiling water and allow to simmer for three minutes. Drain in a colander and set aside
- Remove the pastry from the fridge and allow it to heat to room temperature
- Roll out your pastry on a lightly floured work surface to the thickness of a pound coin. Roll into a large circle and fold it into quarters. Place the pastry into your flan tin, open it out and gently press into the tin, before chilling in the fridge for 20 minutes. Trim away the spare pastry over the side of the tin
- Preheat the oven to 190°C fan, 230°C, 450°F, gas 7-8. Place the baking sheet in the oven to heat whilst you make the filling
- Place the eggs, salt, pepper and cream into a bowl. Stir well with the shallot mixture and chives until combined
- Remove the pastry from the fridge and scatter pieces of salmon in the tin, before topping with the egg mixture. Place the broccoli on top to form a cartwheel pattern and decorate with the cherry tomatoes
- Place the quiche on the pre-heated baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, then turn the oven down to 160°C (adjust depending on the oven) and continue to bake until the quiche has a golden topping (usually 25-30 minutes more). When cooked, the filling should be set with a slight wobble in the middle
- Leave for 10 minutes in the pan before placing on a cooling rack
You can serve immediately, otherwise store in the fridge for five days of the freezer for three months. Enjoy hot or cold.
Val’s top tip: There is no need to blind bake the pastry casing first as, by preheating your baking sheet, the base of the quiche will be nice and crisp.
If you’ve still got leftover ingredients to use up, get creative with Val’s comforting bubble and squeak? Our culinary queen loves to put a twist on traditional bakes, so why not take inspiration from her? Keep baking and making; keep on being you.
