So here's a recipe I've loved since I can remember - Miniature Quiches. Mum's always made them for special occasions, school lunches, whatever really, and I can't remember not being excited about them. A great snack, or if you're in need of a quick feed, have three or four and you're sorted! So here they are, in all their glorious glory.
Ingredients:
- 2 sheets of puff pastry (the original recipe says shortcut, but the puff makes them much lighter and fluffier)
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup of thickened cream
- 1/2 cup finely chopped ham
- 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
- 3/4 cup grated cheese (tasty is best)
- Pinch of ground pepper
- A fan-forced oven preheated to 190 degrees Celsius.
(There are some alternative fillings to these lovelies, but the one here is definitely my favourite. But you could also think about sundried tomatoes and basil, smoked salmon, there's endless combos.)
First, grease shallow patty baking tins (like the ones you use for cupcakes) with butter or margarine. This recipe makes 18 quiches, so you'll probably need two trays. Using an egg ring, cut out 9 circles from each thawed pastry sheet. Alternatively, to avoid waste, you can simply cut up the sheet into 9 squares to avoid wasting any pastry. This is the way I prefer to do it, but mum has always done them in circles so I thought for this purpose I should honour that.
Next, combine the ham and shallots, and sprinkle into the pastry bases. Use only a little in each to begin with, to avoid running out of ham & shallots by the last bases. You can always ration it out a little more evenly later.
Lastly, bake the quiches for about 20 minutes. When you take them out, they'll be lovely and fluffy and golden, and too delicious to deny! I really hope you like this recipe, it's one of my favourites that I'll always associate with home. <3
