This weekend we had the end of season party at the manor house I’m volunteering. We all got together and had a chat about what we did. We also talked about what we are going to do next, there are special activities before Christmas with lots of children from local schools. For this occasion I made these Broccoli Mini Quiche. I only had time to take a couple of pictures of them after I took them out of the oven. Then I rushed to the car with them as I was a bit late. My Broccoli Mini Quiche were a success with the other volunteers and I got plenty of compliments for them. I tried a ginger cake I loved and I’m going to try to make my own version pretty soon.

I wanted to make something a bit lighter, so I’ve used light cheese and I opted for a hot water pastry instead of shortcrust. I had frozen broccoli florets, but fresh broccoli can be used too. I wrote in the recipe for both options.

Ingredients for 20-24 Broccoli Mini Quiche:

– 330g plain white flour
– 115g butter
– 150ml water
– salt
– 175g broccoli
– 150g grated Cheddar lower in fat
– 150g light soft cheese
– 4 eggs
– 1 tsp dried parsley
– 1/2 tsp dried oregano
– 1 tsp dried basil
– white pepper

If you are using fresh broccoli, wash and cut it into small pieces and boil it for 10-15 minutes, until is starts to get soft. If, like me, you are using frozen broccoli, defrost it by putting the florets in a bowl and cover them with boiling water. After 5 minutes or so, take them out and cut them in small pieces for the quiche.

Make the pastry by boiling the water with the butter. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, put the flour with the salt. Pour the butter over the flour and mix with a spoon. Leave a bit to cool down, so you don’t burn yourself. When it’s at a temperature it can be worked with, tip it on the worktop and knead. Knead only for a couple of minutes and leave the dough to rest.

Pre heat the oven at 180C or 160C fan. Roll out the pastry and cut the bases. Put them in a oiled baking tray. Slightly prick the base with a fork.

Make the filling by mixing in a bowl the cheese with the beaten eggs and the dried herbs. Toss in the broccoli and stir with care with a spoon so they don’t break down. Put the filling inside the pastry.

Bake for 25 minutes. When the pastry is baked, take them out of the oven, scoop them with care from the moulds. Put them on a cooling rack to cool completely or enjoy them hot. I like both options.

Do you like mini quiches?