Quiche a la tomato, niçoise

You will love the quiche brought to us by Loreto, from Sabores de Colores ! The mixture of olives, tomatoes and anchovies results in a very Mediterranean flavour, which in quiche format is very appetising and original. Enjoy!

When the film Julie&Julia was released in the cinema, I didn't hesitate to ask for the book on which it was based. It hadn't been published in Spanish yet, but I needed to have all the recipes close by so that these two beautiful volumes would become my favourite and reference books. Both the recipes and the illustrations are a dream. And if you haven't got it yet, World Book Day is coming up. It's the perfect excuse to make it part of your culinary library! ( Spanish version now available !)

And as the good weather is approaching, I couldn't resist imagining those outdoor meals that can't go wrong with a delicious quiche. The one I'm bringing you today, besides being very Mediterranean, is totally different from the ones we're used to tasting. In this case, it doesn't have cream and its main base is natural tomato.

To prepare this quiche I used a round ceramic mould from Kitchen Craft , the perfect size so that not a single spoonful of filling was left over, and of course, with a shortcrust pastry base, also a recipe from Julia Child , crunchy, with a buttery flavour and not at all heavy. If you are too lazy to make it, you can use a prepared base, although you already know that the result is not the same.

INGREDIENTS (for 4-6 people)

For the shortcrust pastry:

140 gr flour
85 gr cold butter in small cubes
28 gr cold butter in small pieces
3-4 ½ tablespoons ice water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon sugar (optional)

For the quiche Niçoise filling:

40 gr finely chopped onion
900 gr peeled, seeded and chopped tomato. Plus 1 sliced ​​tomato for decoration
1 egg and 3 yolks
8 anchovy fillets plus the oil from the can that contains them
3 tablespoons tomato paste
12 pitted black olives
25 gr grated parmesan
1 pinch of ground cayenne
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon of oregano, basil or thyme (you can mix them if you want or use the one you like the most)
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

ELABORATION

About shortcrust pastry:

1. Place all the ingredients, except the water, in the bowl of your mixer and, using the paddle attachment, mix at high speed and stop 4-5 times until you get a sandy texture. The fact that you do this in batches is to prevent the dough from getting too hot. This can easily happen when you use so much fat.

2. Once we have achieved the desired texture, we add 3 tablespoons of water, turn on the mixer and see if the dough forms a ball or needs more water. If so, we add the remaining water.

3. Remove the dough from the mixer onto a floured surface and knead until you have a soft, fresh texture. Form a ball, wrap in baking paper and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

4. Once the dough has rested, we stretch it out on a floured surface using a rolling pin (I used the wooden rolling pin from Le Creuset, which I love). We stretch the dough into a circular shape with a thickness of about 4mm.

Le Creuset Wooden Rolling Pin , Kitchen Craft Quiche Pan and Le Creuset Skillet Cast Iron Skillet

5. Next, carefully roll the dough onto the rolling pin and place it on our Kitchen Craft ceramic mould , which has always been previously buttered and floured. Cut off the excess edges, cover with baking paper and place the Kitchen Craft ceramic balls on top of the dough (if not, use chickpeas or other dried legumes as weights). Place in a preheated oven at 200ºC and bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven, remove the balls and the paper and bake again for 2 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.

For the quiche nicoise filling:

6. Sauté the chopped onion in our Le Creuset skillet over a low heat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the chopped tomatoes, from which we have removed the skin and seeds, the crushed garlic, the aromatic herbs, half a teaspoon of salt and the pepper. Cover and cook over a low heat for about 5 minutes. After this time, uncover and cook until the tomato juice has almost completely evaporated. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

7. In a bowl, beat the egg with the yolks, add the chopped anchovies, tomato paste, 3 tablespoons of oil (including the oil from the anchovies), chopped parsley, paprika and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Mix well. Next, add the tomato and onion stir-fry, unify the mixture, adjust the salt and pepper if necessary (remember that anchovies are very salty). Set aside.

8. Place the filling on the partially baked shortcrust pastry, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, distribute the tomato slices and olives, drizzle with a tablespoon of oil and bake at 190ºC (always in a preheated oven) for 25-30 minutes or until the quiche has puffed up and is golden on the surface.

Julia Child 's recipes never fail - this delicious quiche, without cream as we are used to enjoying them, is really delicious. And as you know, quiches can be enjoyed hot, warm or even cold. They are always a success!

Loreto