Reuben Quiche with Mustard Pastry. And Caramalised Shallots.

I have always been disappointed by quiche.  The idea sounds wonderful but the reality is less so, with most (bought) quiches being tasteless with dry pastry and bland fillings.  But no more.  I have come up with a delicious creamy, quiche inspired by Reuben sandwiches – a filling of pastrami, mini gherkins, mozerella and caramalised shallots.  It is completely divine, even more so for my mustard pastry base.

I had a slight crisis when baking the pastry case – we had our millionth power cut just as I popped it in the oven.  Luckily I noticed the silence in the house (the usual orchestra of fridge, dishwasher and washing machine was unusually silent) just before the sides had completely melted down the tin, so I shoved the whole lot in the still-cold freezer which thankfully saved the day until the power came back on.

It is best served warm, although it was pretty delicious cold for a beach picnic this Saturday as we watched our first surfing competition.  Oh joy to be in a country where in the midst of winter you can spend a day in the sunshine on the beach surrounded by oh so trendy surfers and their groupies.

Ingredients

For the pastry

5 tsp Dijon mustard

200 g plain flour

2-3 tsp milk

120 g cold salted butter

For the filling

375 ml pouring cream

125 ml whole milk

1 clove of garlic

1 dried bay leaf

½ onion

6 egg yolks

2 eggs

120 g mozzerella cheese, grated

4 shallots

a knob of butter

125 g pastrami

12-15 mini gherkins/cornichons

1 large handful of parsley

Salt and black pepper

Method

1. First make the pastry.  Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.  Then make a well in the centre and add the mustard and a little of the milk. Stir with a dinner knife until the mixture comes together, adding the rest of the milk if needs be.  Knead lightly to form a smooth dough, wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

2. For the filling combine the cream, milk, onion, garlic and bay leaf in a small saucepan and bring almost to the boil, then remove from heat, cover and let the flavours infuse for 30 minutes.  Then strain the cream mixture into a bowl.

3. Peel and cut the shallots in half lengthways.  Melt the butter in a small saucepan and add the shallots.  Cook covered, stirring occasionally over a moderate heat for 20 minutes or until soft and the layers are falling apart.

4. Roll out the pastry on a floured surface and use to line a 24 cm loose-bottomed tart tin leaving plenty of overlap....

Prick the base all over with a fork and again chill for at least 30 minutes.  Then cover the base with baking paper and rice or baking beans and cook in an oven at 200C for 20 minutes.  Remove the baking paper and beans, turn down the oven to 180C and cook for a further 5 to 10 minutes until the base is crisp and golden.  Trim the overlapping edge with a serrated knife.  Remove and turn down the oven to 160C.  Keep the pastry case in its tin.

5. Whisk the egg yolks and whole eggs together in a large bowl then stir in the cream mixture add the pastrami cut into smallish squares, the grated mozzerella, the chopped parsley, the shallots and season generously.

6. Pour the filling mixture into the pastry case top with the gherkins cut in half lengthways...

...and bake on a baking tray at 160C for 25 to 30 minutes or until the custard is just set.  Allow to cool for 20 minutes before removing from the tin and serving.