Well, 2020 is turning out to be a pretty bizarre year isn't it - how are we already in August, but at the same time it feels like the year is dragging. So much has happened, but also so little. Never again will we complain about the length of the 6 week summer holiday when many of us have survived the kids being off school for the equivalent of 4 summer holidays back to back, without even a an actual summer holiday to break it up. At least the weather has been pretty good, mostly, other than the torrential rain, multiple storms and floods that have happened recently. On the good days many of us are grateful that we can now venture further than our back gardens, and can once again enjoy parks, beaches and countryside.
Picnic time
Picnics are a great option for lunches at this time of the year, whether it's to enjoy in your garden, on a beach, park bench or even your living room floor if the weather is bad. Whilst sandwiches are a safe bet they can sometimes be a little boring. Pies, pasties, sausage rolls and quiche are great go to picnic essentials, but if you want to go for an impromptu picnic and you don't have the time or inclination to to make pastry, or you don't have any ready made in your fridge, then this quiche recipe can be the perfect solution, as it uses sliced bread for the crust.
Yes, believe it or not, that crispy crust is made using sliced bread! Vogel's No Bits Seeded White loaf is ideal for those who want their children to have the benefits of milled grains and seeds in a seeded loaf but have children that won't entertain anything other than white bread. Not only does this sliced bread have all the nutrition and taste of seeded bread, but it has the soft texture of a white loaf, which children love.
Healthier option
Not only is this crust convenient, but it is also a much healthier option than using pastry, which has a high fat content (around 30% fat in your average shortcut pastry versus less than 3% fat in Vogel's No Bits Seeded White), and lower fibre content (around 1% fibre in shortcrust pastry versus 4% in Vogel's No Bits Seeded White). Some of the egg mixture soaks into the bread, but this is minimised by brushing the bread with a layer of egg mixture before 'blind baking' for around 10 minutes.
Get the kids involved
Making this quiche is a great activity to do with children of all ages. It's a simple enough recipe for older children to prepare on their own, as there are no tricky skills required, and younger children can help with grating cheese, cracking and beating eggs, and buttering bread, depending on their age and ability. They can also choose fillings for themselves - try adding a choice of fillings to small bowls and let children choose what they like, for example chopped ham, sweetcorn, cooked broccoli, cooked bacon, mushrooms and cooked leeks.
Looking good!
How good does that quiche look! Great for lunches, picnics or dinner, and when the kids are back at school you could pop a wedge into their lunchbox, or try making individual quiches in a muffin pan using a slice of bread for each quiche. Here's how to make a deep filled quiche, approximately 15cm x 20cm in size.
Cheese, Tomato & Spring Onion Quiche - with a bread crust
6 slices of Vogel's No Bits Seeded White bread
40g butter, softened
6 large eggs, beaten
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
half a pepper (I used 1/4 of an orange pepper & 1/4 of a yellow one), thinly sliced
75g mature cheddar cheese, grated
50ml milk
Salt & black pepper
4 or 5 baby plum tomatoes, halved
- Preheat the oven to 170°c
- Cut the curved top crusts off 4 slices of bread and cut the other 2 slices in half - you will need the halves with the straight crustUse a rolling pin to flatten the bread out a little
- Spread the softened butter onto the bread
- Arrange the slices of bread, buttered side down, in the 15x20cm rectangular dish with 2 slices on each side, and the half slices on the ends, overlapping slightly. Use offcuts of bread to patch up any gaps or holes in the bread.
- Beat the eggs and brush a layer onto the bread
- Bake for approx 10 minutes until the bread is starting to crisp up
- Lay half of the sliced spring onions, half of the sliced peppers and half of the cheese onto the bread crust
- Beat the milk into the eggs & season with salt & pepper
- Pour the egg mixture into the crust, and top with the remaining onions, peppers, cheese & tomato halves
- Bake for approx 30 minutes, until the filling is just firm to the touch
- Enjoy warm or cold
Not only does Vogel's No Bits Seeded White make great quiche, but it makes pretty awesome toast too! Available to buy from Waitrose.
Recipe commissioned by Vogel's Bread
