Cheese-less Crust-less Quiche

What? No cheese? No crust? Can you even call that a quiche?

First, let me tell you why it's crust-less...
I was simply too lazy to make pastry dough. (I'm sure many of you out there are guilty of this too. Right?)  So I pulled out some tortilla wraps from my freezer, searched my drawers for a suitable sized bowl, and delicately pressed one wrap into each bowl.

Now, why is it cheese-less?
Because I plain forgot. Yes. Forgot. Silly reason, but I'm sure it happens to all of us as some point.

Nevertheless, despite the laziness and the boo-boo, it still turned out ok.
Quite pretty in fact, if I may say so  :)  And certainly less sinful than a traditional buttery crust.


TOMATO BACON BROCCOLI QUICHE
Serves 2.

2 tortilla wraps
A handful of cherry tomatoes
3 rashes of bacon, sliced into 1cm strips
Some broccoli, chopped to small pieces
1/2 tsp dried basil
150ml milk
2 eggs

Press tortilla wrap into a greased oven-proof bowl.
Slice tomatoes in half and scatter onto wrap.
Cook bacon in a pan for about 5 min, then add the broccoli and cook for another 5 min till broccoli has softened slightly.
Scatter on top of tomatoes and sprinkle the basil over the top.

Combine milk and eggs, then pour on top of filling.
Sprinkle with pepper and parsley flakes if desired.

Bake at 170*C for 25 min.
Carefully remove from bowl and cool on a wire rack for about 5 min.
Serve while still warm to hungry tummies, in the hope that they won't realise that the dish is missing some cheese.

Mini Tomato Bacon Quiche

How many of you follow Pioneer Woman's blog?

I like her nonchalent style and her detailed step-by-step photos, which are also gorgeous to look at.

Sometimes, when I'm lazy - which is most times - I just scroll down her post, glance at the pictures and I sorta get what she's doing. I'd like to do that for my blog, but I get lazy...

Why am I talking about Pioneer Woman?

Cos I used a crust recipe found on her blog for this quiche. 

"This is my go-to recipe for a flaky, beautiful two crust pie," says Pioneer Woman. 

Sounds good doesn't it?  

I YYY flaky, crumbly crusts. 

So I thought I'd use this recipe together with my new set of 4" mini tart pans. 

PIE CRUST

Adapted from Pioneer Woman's Perfect Pie Crust.

Makes four 4" (10cm) crusts.

120g plain flour

1/3 tsp salt

50g butter, very cold

17g shortening

10ml cold water

Measure the flour and salt into your food processor.

Pulse to evenly combine the ingredients.

Add the butter and shortening and pulse till the mixture resembles bread crumbs. 

Add the cold water and pulse till the mixture comes together slightly.

Pour onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times till a dough comes together.

If you are working in a cold kitchen (lucky you!) and the dough feels firm enough to roll, go ahead. 

Otherwise, if your kitchen is hot and humid like mine, pop the dough into the fridge for about 20 minutes or so till it firms up.

But, again, I got lazy (and hungry) and couldn't wait for more than 5 minutes, so I improvised and just pressed the dough into the tart pans.  This, I discovered, was much easier than trying to roll out the soft, floppy dough. 

Prick the dough with a fork (so they don't balloon in the oven).

Place pie weights into the pan (optional). 

Bake at 180*C for about 8-10 min, then carefully remove pie weights and bake the shells for another 5 min.  

While waiting for the shells to cool, prepare the filling.

TOMATO BACON QUICHE
Makes four 4" (10cm) quiches.

2 rashes bacon (or ham), chopped
8 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/3 cup peas
some finely diced onions
60g of your favourite cheese, grated or finely diced (I used cheddar, but parmesan, swiss or even blue cheese will be fine)
some basil, sage and parsley (or any herb of your choice)

2 eggs
3/4 cup (180ml) milk
pinch of salt and pepper

Place the chopped bacon into a skillet and heat till the fat is rendered.
Add onions and cook till soft.
Add tomatoes and peas and cook till soft.
Season with herbs, salt and pepper to taste.
Spoon into quiche shells.
Sprinkle cheese on top.

In a measuring cup, stir the eggs, milk and salt/pepper to combine.
Pour into quiche shells till it reaches the brim.
Bake at 180*C for about 15 min.
Best served warm, with a side of rocket salad.

NOTES:
While I absolutely loved the flaky crumbly texture of the crust, I think a sturdier crust (perhaps one with egg) would have been more suitable for a quiche. However, for an egg tart or fruit tart, I think this crust recipe would have been perfect!

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Carrot Pasta

Remember my post on my new toy - the pasta machine?

I decided to be a little adventurous and experimented with a flavoured pasta. I thought I would get nice orange-coloured pasta... but in the end, I got what looked more like ee-mee.  LOL!

Nevertheless, hubby still gave the thumbs up for taste and texture. Looks like the remaining pack of dried pasta in the pantry will be sitting there for quite a while longer...

For this batch, I doubled the recipe here. But instead of using 2 eggs, I used 1 egg and replaced the second egg with the same amount of carrot puree. Perhaps next time, I'll add some tomato puree to see if the orange colour will be enhanced.

Stay tuned for more pasta dishes  :)

Lemon Pasta + Alaskan King Crab

I can't believe how easy and delicious this pasta dish is.  It is now my favourite pasta dish (to eat and to cook).

With lemon and butter as the base, it's a no-brainer that the best accompaniment to this is seafood.  I chose Alaskan King Crab, with bacon bits as a garnish.  You could also use prawns, scallops or squid, but make sure they're as fresh as possible.


Lemon Pasta + Seafood
Serves 2.

150g angel hair pasta
crab meat, prawns, scallops or squid, enough for two
few rashes of bacon, chopped to small pieces

2 tbs butter
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
juice and zest of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp dill tips (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Boil pasta till al dente and cook seafood, then set aside.
In a skillet, fry bacon till crisp.  Remove bacon bits, keeping the bacon fat in the pan.
Add all other ingredients and heat through.
Add pasta and seafood into pan.  Stir till pasta is evenly coated.
Divide evenly onto serving plates and garnish with bacon bits.


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Miso Black Cod + Bacon Potatoes

Tonight's dinner began last night.

What do I mean?
It's one of those dishes that requires advance planning - marination needs to take place overnight.  Not one of those dishes you can make on the spur of the moment.  Well, actually, you could; it just wouldn't taste as good.

This dish was inspired by my recent trip to USA.  You see, my entire holiday was planned around food, food and food.  Yes, first things on the list were the food spots; all else was secondary.

On our last night in Manhattan, we were supposed to hop over to Brooklyn for dinner at a popular steakhouse.  But, seduced by a Japanese restaurant we passed by the day before, we decided to ditch the steakhouse and headed for Iron Chef America's MORIMOTO.  And it was one of the best decisions we ever made. Every dish was superb!

One of the dishes was Black Cod Miso.  Here's the Iron Chef's version:

Now for my humble attempt to replicate the flavours of this dish...

First, get some black cod.  Or just plain white cod will do too.  Thaw them thoroughly, and pat them dry.

Now for the marinade...

Miso Marinade:
4 tbs miso paste
2 tbs sugar
1/4 cup sake
1/4 cup mirin

If you're wondering where to get sake and mirin, see those two yellow and green bottles in the photo below?  Those are from the wonderful store named Daiso.  Just S$2 each 300ml bottle.  Must haves if you cook Japanese dishes.

Blend everything together.

Then pour the marinade over the fish till all pieces are totally submerged.

Cover, and leave it in the fridge for at least 24 hours, and up to 72 hours. 

When you're ready for dinner the next day (24 hours), or the day after (48 hours), or the day after the day after (72 hours), remove the fish from the fridge and let it come to room temperature while you prepare your side dish.

I put together whatever I found in my kitchen.  I sliced some baby potatoes and streaky bacon, dumped them onto a tray with some cherry tomatoes, sprinkled some rosemary and olive oil, then baked them in my oven toaster for about 20 min till the potatoes were soft and the tomatoes have burst.

When your side dish is almost done, whip out your non-stick pan, drizzle some vegetable oil and pan-sear the fish pieces till they're cooked through.  Add a little water if the pan dries up.

Onto the plate it goes, and dinner is served!  Oh, don't waste the gravy that's left in the pan.  You can always drizzle it over the fish.

Verdict from the husband:  Tastes almost like Morimoto's.

Okay, that's good enough for me.  I'm happy :)



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