Sausage Quiche Lorraine

Here it is!

After a long wait, full of purely sweet induced recipes, the savory is back.

I give you the Quiche.

An egg custard with savory additions like bacon or cheese, baked in an

open pastry shell. The quiche is a favorite and traditional brunch dish, as it is usually served at

room temperature or chilled so the custard has time to set up.

I like mine served either in room temperature or hot. This is great for picnics, as it can be made into

mini pie shells, making each mini quiche an individual serving.

The variations are endless, combine anything you may have in your kitchen, I usally make quiche when

there are a lot of leftovers. Of course there is also the sweet version of quiche, the flan.

One of my favorite flans has got to be the cherry praline flan. Yum! :)

This is a Sausage Quiche Loraine, a small variation to the classic Quiche Loraine, I just substituted the bacon

with sausage. Anyone that knows what a quiche is, knows the Quiche Loraine, its like the pizza’s cheese pizza.

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INGREDIENTS:

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Shortcrust Pastry

1 1/2 cups flour

3 tbsp margarine

3tbsp shortening/lard/butter/margarine

2-3 tbsp chilled water

pinch of salt

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Filling

4 cooked sausages

2 large eggs

2 egg yolks

2/3 cup cream

2/3 cup milk

1/2 cup grated Gruyère/Pecorino/Parmesan cheese

pinch of salt

freshly ground black pepper

tomato rinds to decorate (optional)

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DIRECTIONS:

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Shortcrust Pastry

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Rub in the margarine and lard (shortening) until the mixture resembles

fine breadcrumbs. Add the water and mix to a firm dough. Knead on the lightly floured surface until smooth.

Roll out the pastry (dough) and use to line a 20 cm/8 inch flan tin (pie pan).

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Filling

Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF

Cut the sausages into small pieces and add to the prepared flan case.

Place the eggs, egg yolks and cream in a bowl and beat together.

Stir in the milk, and add salt andpepper to taste. Pour the mixture over the sausage and sprinkle

with the grated cheese. Bake in the already preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until golden.

Remove from the oven and leave to set for 10 minutes before serving.

January 21, 2010 | Tags: , , , | No Comments »

Bite From The Past: Sweet Potato, Carrot and Chickpea Soup

Hello fellow foodies!

You see? I have kept my word for posting a new recipe EVERY WEEK.

Yesterday I started to panic a little for not having anything to post yet.

As to cooking, it has been a slow week for me… I have been quite lazy.

So no better opportunity than to post a Bite From The Past recipe!

For more information to these posts, click here.

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In the Northern Hemisphere, winter has arrived and there is nothing better than having a hot bowl of soup.

This recipe is perfect for winter days, especially because the ingredients are all in season at this time.

A creamy and indulgent soup that can be made in large batches and kept in the fridge for up to 5 days.

For me – a dash of cinnamon makes it that much better, enjoy!

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INGREDIENTS:

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Soup

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large brown onion, roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp chilli powder

600g orange sweet potato, peeled, diced

500g carrots, peeled, sliced

6 cups reduced-salt chicken stock

300g can chickpeas, drained, rinsed

1/2 small lemon, juiced

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Cheesy Baguette Slices

1 tbsp butter

12 1/4-inch-thick baguette bread slices

1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese or 1/4 Gruyere and 1/4 Mozzarella

1 tsp minced fresh thyme or dry

1 tsp ground sage

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DIRECTIONS:

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Soup

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic.

Cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes. Stir in coriander, cumin and chilli powder.

Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add sweet potato and carrot. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes.

Add stock. Cover. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.

Add chickpeas to soup and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes or until chickpeas are tender.

Blend soup, in batches, until smooth. Return to saucepan over medium-low heat.

Season with salt and pepper. Stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Heat, stirring, until hot (do not boil).

Pour into bowls. Top with croutons or my cheesy baguette slices. Sprinkle with pepper. Serve.

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Cheesy Baguette Slices

Preheat broiler. Butter 1 side of each bread slice. Arrange bread, buttered side up, on baking sheet.

Broil until golden, about 1 minute. Turn over. Sprinkle cheese, then thyme and sage over.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil until cheese melts, about 1 minute. Pour soup into bowls.

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November 22, 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Mediterranean Salad

Summer is here! Well… at least for the Northern hemisphere.

I’m down in the Southern, so… things are a bit chilly, but that doesn’t stop me from making

refreshing summer foods. I made something different last week, a Mediterranean Salad, I like to call it.

It has all of those Mediterranean ingredients, such as lots of olive oil, feta cheese, garlic, tomatoes, etc…

This salad is a close version to the traditional Portuguese chick pea salad.

Although, the Portuguese version is a lot plainer, it only contains tuna, chick peas and olive oil.

I have to say, I got a lot of inspiration from the Mexican guacamole, all of those ingredients are

in this salad. So lets put it this way, this dish is a cross combination between Portuguese and Mexican

flavors!

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INGREDIENTS:

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1 can of chick peas/garbanzo beans

1 small diced onion

1 crushed garlic clove

1 medium diced tomato

1 handful lightly chopped cilantro

1 handful finely chopped parsley

½ an avocado – cut in cubes

1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

Squeeze of lime juice

1 tsp lemon zest

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt & pepper

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DIRECTIONS:

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Mix everything in a bowl, adding the avocado last, just so you won’t mush it all up while mixing everything.

Add the salt last to not over season, thus the feta cheese is already very salty.

Note: As you can see, I didn’t have any feta cheese in here when I took the picture…

The feta cheese really adds that special something to it all, very important to add!

June 11, 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Nigella’s Pollo alla Cacciatorra

Image source: www.lemangelaville.com

Let’s face it, Nigella Lawson IS the queen of comfort food, Paula Deen being second, or not?

Not only that, but a domestic goddess in the kitchen, she’s one of my favorite chefs.

I just love to watch her whipping something up in the kitchen.

She has so much passion for whatever she’s doing, always.

Her English accent and speedy cooking skills can make just about anyone bow down to her.

I was browsing around in YouTube for some cooking videos and came across a Nigella Lawson video.

Scroll down to see her making Pollo alla Cacciatorra.

An Italian recipe, that is oh so comforting, here’s the recipe:

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INGREDIENTS:

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1 tbsp garlic oil

1/2 cup pancetta cubes

6 scallions, finely sliced

1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves

1 lb chicken thigh fillets, each cut into 4 pieces

1/2 tsp celery salt

1/2 cup white wine

1 (14-ounce) can chopped tomatoes

2 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 (14-ounce) can cannellini beans

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DIRECTIONS:

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Put the garlic oil into a pan with the pancetta, sliced scallions and chopped rosemary and fry for a couple of minutes.

Add the bite-sized chicken pieces, stirring well, and sprinkle in the celery salt.

Pour in the wine and let it come to a bubble before adding the tomatoes, bay leaves and sugar.

Put the lid on and let the pan simmer for 20 minutes.

Drain and add a tin of cannellini beans and when they have warmed through too, you are ready to eat.

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March 10, 2009 | Tags: , , , | No Comments »

Bite From The Past: Chorizo Stuffed Bread Rolls

From time to time I’ll be posting recipes here that I’ve posted 2 years ago on the sugar network.

This is a Portuguese recipe (my moms Portuguese) filled with tiny pieces of the traditional Portuguese chorizo.

The Portuguese love chorizo, it’s in almost all of their savory dishes.

If there’s something the Portuguese love more or as much, that’s bread, in every meal, a piece of bread.

So it’s no surprise that chorizo and bread together was invented!

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Here’s Portuguese cooking for you:

INGREDIENTS:

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1/3 cup warm water

3 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup melted butter

1 cup milk

4 egg whites

1 teaspoon salt

5 cups flour

1 1/2 cup diced chorizo/pancetta

1 cup diced mozzarella cheese in little cubes (optional)

Sesame seeds to drizzle over rolls

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DIRECTIONS:

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In a small bowl, combine water, yeast and a pinch of sugar.

Stir to mix and set aside for 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine sugar, butter, milk, egg whites, salt and 2 cups of flour.

Beat on medium for 2 minutes.

Add the yeast mixture and an additional cup of flour to the batter.

Beat for a minute or two.

Continue mixing the batter while slowly adding the remaining flour, then the chorizo.

Knead the dough for 3-5 minutes.

Place the dough in a large bowl. Thinly coat the top of the dough with oil.

Loosely cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean dish towel and let rise at room temperature for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Remove dough from the bowl and place on a floured surface. Divide into 24 equal pieces.

Make rolls (balls) of the dough and open each one, filling with chorizo and cheese,

brush over with a beaten egg.

Add sesame seeds over and place rolls on an oiled baking sheet.

Cover rolls as mentioned above and let rise for 40 minutes.

Bake for 12-15 minutes.

March 7, 2009 | Tags: , , , , , | No Comments »
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