Bonjour and happy Sunday!
We’ve had a late summer phase here in Germany during September (with lots of delicious tomatoes!), and then, all of the sudden, it got really cold. Come October I had to break out the winter coat, the wool cap and the boots! Also, I’ve caught a cold – bah! Really hope it doesn’t wear me down later, it’s just a bad month to be sick. Time to load up on vitamin C and zink and get moving away from the flu as quickly as possible!
Anyway, I’ve been keeping warm with lots of herbal tea and music this past week. Mainly I’m listening to the new Regina Spektor and Van Morrison albums, which are both really great and easy on the ears. Coincidentally wrote a really lovely song about winter on Remember Us To Life.
I’m actually enjoying having the time to actually put in some new tunes into the proper stereo with the good boxes and hang around from the very first chord to the last chime. There’s nothing like sitting in the sweet spot and closing your eyes, something I definitely didn’t enough of this year! But, there are three more months left and plenty of new music dropping, so who knows, I could actually make it a habit again.
Autum and winter, time for quiche!
On the culinary front, I’m celebrating the return of soups, stews and quiches. I love the latter, because they are packed with flavor and really satiate you. Plus, they work really well on the road as you can eat them at room temperature. So there is always an excuse to make a little more to save to have for lunch or a quick dinner throughout the week, along with a brightly colored salad or some fruit. Everyone wins!
One of my absolute favorite quiche types is made with tomato and mascarpone. It’s really pretty and it tastes a bit like the last days of summer. We can all use some of that, no?
I also work fresh thyme into the crust, to make it more exciting. But you can also use fresh oregano or even rosemary – if you are feeling adventurous!
Happy baking!
PS: This is a recipe for a small baking tin. If you want to feed more than two hungry people or save some quiche for later, I suggest doubling the recipe and using a larger baking tin (be aware that baking times will then also increase).
Delicious Gluten-free Quiche with Rosemary-scented Crust, Basil and Caramelized Onions
For the gluten-free quiche crust:
150g gluten-free flour mix (I used Schaer MixIt!)
70g butter (cold)
1 egg
50g water
½ tsp salt
five sprigs fresh thyme (alternatively: fresh oregano leaves or a fresh rosemary sprig)
For the filling:
500g cherry tomatoes of different colors
2 medium-sized onions, peeled and cut into tin slices
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp butter
2 tsp sugar
250g mascarpone
70ml milk
3 organic-free range eggs (size L)
20g gluten-free corn-starch
two handful fresh basil leaves
50g delicious cheeses, e.g. Gruyere, Appenzeller or Emmental – grated
salt and pepper to taste
Heat your oven to 200°C.
Line a small round baking tin (20cm diameter) with baking parchment.
Place the flour in a bowl, add the butter and the rest of the ingredients and gently knead into a firm dough.
Stop kneading early, basically once you feel that all ingredients have been properly incorporated into the dough.
Distribute the dough evenly within the baking parchment and poke holes into it using a fork.
Place crust into the oven and bake for about ten minutes.
Meanwhile, heat a small pan and add the vegetable oil. Add the onion slices. Fry until tender. Add the butter and keep frying until slightly brown. Add a handful of chopped basil leaves. Add the sugar and wait for onions and basil to be caramelized.
Turn off the stove and set the caramelized onions aside.
Meanwhile, wash the cherry tomatoes and cut off the top. Cut a couple of tomatoes into thick slices, about a centimeter and a half thick (these will be your top, decorative layer).
Remove the crust from the oven and place cherry tomatoes upright into it.
Cover with one part of the caramelized onions and one part of the grated cheeses. Cover the first layer with the thicker tomato slices, minus five.
In another bowl, mix the mascarpone and the organic free-range eggs. Mix the corn-starch and the milk in a small cup. Pour into the mascarpone-egg mix and whisk until lumpless. Season with salt and pepper, add the remainder of the basil leaves and grated cheese.
Pour mascarpone-egg-mix over the tomatoes.
Cover with the remainder of the thick tomato slices and place quiche into the oven and bake for about forty-five minutes or until the filling is firm and the top of the quiche has turned golden brown.
In case the top of your quiche browns too quickly, cover with aluminum foil for about twenty-five minutes of the baking process, and uncover ten minutes prior to removing from oven to ensure crispiness.
Once done, remove quiche from oven and serve while still warm.
