We’ve made a few recipes with roasted peppers, and almost always have a jar of the shop-bought ones in the fridge. They go really well in pasta, risottos and many other things, and are a really handy store cupboard ingredient to have in your kitchen.
This quiche isn’t made with the shop-bought peppers – although they are a great ingredient, there are times when only the real thing will do. The original idea was a creamy roasted pepper sauce to stir through pasta with some diced chorizo – the contrast of the sweetness of the peppers versus the salty/spicy taste of the chorizo was nice. Unfortunately, it was just nice – it wasn’t Special. And when it comes to recipes to share with you, to we like Special.
And then inspiration came – could the pureed roasted pepper be beaten into the egg mix for a quiche? The first test gave a great result, but we still felt like it needed something more. So, inspired by an episode of one of Jamie Oliver’s shows, I started to think about wilting some kind of greens into the mix – but what? Spinach? Kale? Both seemed a little too bitter flavoured to work well with the sweet roasted pepper.
Eventually, rocket suggested itself and it was perfect. Mild but peppery, and with enough body to give an extra bit of texture and some contrasting flavour to the quiche overall. Rocket is another ingredient that I feel is really underused. It’s something that chefs use to create a side salad or garnish that sits on the side of the plate to look pretty whilst you eat the main meal in a restaurant. But it’s so much more than that – rocket has so much flavour of its own. I use it for everything from replacing normal lettuce in sandwiches, to soups, to things like this quiche!
Now, a moment of comedy. The first time I tried the actual quiche recipe, I put the peppers in the food processor and began blending them up. Unfortunately, I forgot the little spout bit that sits in the top to prevent anything spraying out – and guess what happened? Yep, pureed pepper flesh all over me and the kitchen sides. Ah, it’s important to be able to laugh at yourself (although I’m pretty sure I didn’t laugh at the time – I’m pretty sure there was some colourful language)!
This quiche is pretty versatile too – you can have it cold/warm in the summer with some salad bits, or warm/hot in the winter with some chips and steamed veg. We found it also keeps well for a couple of days in the fridge – just pop it back in the oven to heat it back up if you don’t want to eat it cold.
Let me know what you think – feel free to use the comments section or the Contact Me form on the site. I also share my recipes through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest so you can get me that way – I love hearing from you! Enjoy DDx.
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Roasted Pepper and Rocket Quiche
- Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
A creamy roasted pepper quiche with wilted rocket.
Ingredients
For the pastry:
- 200 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 100 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 84 ml cold water
For the quiche filling:
- 4 red, yellow or orange peppers, halved and deseeded
- 120 ml double cream
- 30 g parmesan
- 3 basil leaves
- A bunch of fresh parsley
- Sea salt and black pepper
- 6 eggs
- 70 g cheddar, grated
- 40 g rocket (or rocket, spinach and watercress salad)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / fan 160°C. Put the peppers, cut side down, on a baking tray lined with parchment or a Pyrex dish lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Roast in the oven for 40 minutes or until slightly blackened and shrivelled. Set aside to cool for about 20 minutes.
- Make the pastry: Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl with a pinch of salt. Add the butter and rub together until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Gradually add the cold water and use your hands to bring it together into a rough dough (adding a splash more water if needed.
- Wrap the dough in clingfilm and allow to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Oil or spray a quiche dish with cooking spray or olive oil.
- On a flour-dusted work surface, roll out the pastry to fit your quiche dish. Roll the pastry up around the rolling pin and carefully unroll it over the prepared quiche dish.
- Gently press the pastry into the quiche dish, moulding to the dish as you go. Trim any overhanging pastry off (you can use it to fill any holes). Put a sheet of baking paper over the pastry and then pour in baking beans (or uncooked rice or lentils). Bake for 12 minutes and then carefully remove the baking beans and blind bake for 10 minutes.
- Make the quiche filling: Peel off the outer layer of skin from the peppers. Roughly chop the flesh and put in your food processor with the cream, Parmesan, basil, parsley and some black pepper. Blend until smooth and creamy.
- In a separate jug, lightly beat the eggs with a fork. Pour in the roasted pepper mixture and beat gently with a fork until combined.
- Spread the rocket salad over the blind-baked pastry base. Pour over the egg-cream mixture and flatten down any bits of rocket that poke up so they are covered by the filling.
- Sprinkle over the grated cheddar and bake in the oven for 40-50 minutes until the quiche is set and the top is golden brown.
- Allow to cool partially or completely and slice into 8.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
