No time to make shortcrust? Bought puff pastry makes an instant (and decadent) alternative. Yes, I know you can buy ready-rolled shortcrust, but I wouldn’t: it’s trash. If this column didn’t have a 30-minute time constraint, I’d blitz 200g plain flour and 100g cold cubed salted butter to sand, then add one egg yolk and a tablespoon of cold water, then blitz for a few seconds, and no longer, until it just comes together. I’m unorthodox, so I then tip the pastry straight into a pie dish, quickly pat it into place and freeze for 15 minutes. Blind bake for 10 minutes at 180C(160C fan)/350F/gas 4, before removing the paper and baking beans and tipping in the filling – it’s really not very much work. But it does add 20 minutes to proceedings, which disqualifies the recipe from this column. So it’s bought, pre-rolled puff pastry instead.
Mushroom and artichoke puff pastry quiche
Prep 15 min
Cook 25 min
Serves 4
2 tbsp olive oil, or oil from the artichoke jar
300g chestnut mushrooms, roughly sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely grated
100g creme fraiche
3 eggs
1 tsp sea salt flakes
320g sheet ready-rolled puff pastry
150g jarred artichoke pieces, cut into 1cm slices
150g goat’s cheese log, sliced
A few sprigs fresh rosemary
Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Heat a large frying pan on a medium-high heat, add the olive oil, then tip in the mushrooms and garlic, and stir-fry for five to six minutes, until slightly browned and just cooked through. Transfer the mushrooms to a plate to cool.
In a medium bowl, whisk the creme fraiche, eggs and salt. Unroll the puff pastry sheet into a medium roasting tin, so the pastry comes up all four sides; you may end up with an overhang on the longer edges, in which case trim them and use the surplus pastry to make cheese or jam pinwheels.
Tip the sauteed mushrooms into the pastry case, then arrange the artichoke slices evenly on top. Pour over the creme fraiche and egg mixture, then arrange the goat’s cheese and rosemary sprigs all over the top. Bake for 25 minutes, until the pastry and filling are golden brown and cooked through, then remove and leave to sit and settle for 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
