Garden Vegetable Quiche

Preparation Time: 20 minutes plus 30 minutes chilling time
Cooking Time: 1 hour Serves: 6- 8 people

This is a delicious herb short crust pastry pie packed with summer vegetables.
The secret of a good quiche is to ensure that the pastry base is well cooked so that when you add the filling, the pastry does not go soggy. There are endless choices of vegetables that you can use to ring the changes – but look at colour and texture so that they blend well. I have used red and green vegetables that are in season.

For the Pastry
2 ½ cups plain all purpose flour
Pinch of salt
½ cup cold butter
2 tablespoons Parmesan Cheese – finely grated
2 tablespoons fresh mint/ parsley
1 egg
1- 2 teaspoons cold water

Filling
1 cup runner beans, stringed, halved lengthways and sliced
2 cups fresh or frozen peas
1 1 /4 cup milk
2 tablespoons plain flour
3 large eggs
1 cup log full-fat soft goat's cheese, sliced
3 small vine tomatoes, quartered

Garnish: Dusting of black pepper and torn leaves of fresh mint /parsley

Method
1. Put the flour, salt and mint or parsley into the food processor. Add the butter, cheese and an egg. Continue to whiz together until the pastry cleans the side of the bowl. Add the water gradually as required.
2. Wrap the pastry crust in seram wrap and leave in the refrigerator to rest for 30 minutes.
3. Lightly dust the work surface with flour and roll out the pastry so that it fits a 10 inch deep loose based flan tin. (It needs to be approximately 3 ¾ inches larger to accommodate the depth of the tin.)
4. Pre-heat the oven to 400 F.
5. Carefully roll the rolling pin over the tin to neaten the edges and trim the excess pastry. Line the pastry base with foil. Fill with baking beans and bake blind for 20 minutes in the pre-heated oven.
6. Place the beans and peas into a saucepan of boiling water. Cook for 3 minutes or until soft. Drain and put into the pastry crust.
7. Using the same saucepan, add the flour followed by the milk stirring continuously over a low heat until slowly thickened.
8. Beat the eggs into the sauce and generously season. Pour into the pastry case and scatter with the goat's cheese and tomatoes.
9. Bake for 40 minutes until the filling is set, turning golden.
Cool for a few ---minutes before taking from the tin. Serve with a green salad.