For anyone who has my book, Home Cheese Making in Australia, you know there are a lot of different cheeses in there. So, it might surprise you to know that the cheese I make at home the most is feta. Feta is great for eating, but it is also great for cooking, and as a vegetarian, cheese in my main meals is an important part of my protein intake.
Four litres of milk will make me about 750 grams of Danish-style feta; plenty for some to eat and some to cook with. And as the cold weather starts to bite here in the Granite Belt, hearty winter meals become a necessity and a comfort. I selected rocket to go in my quiche as I have this growing in my garden. It does quite well here even in winter and does not seem to be bothered by the frost.
Ingredients
- Pastry for a single-crust pie. See my blog post on this here
- 8 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup full cream milk
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
- bunch of rocket, preferably fresh from the garden, bunched and thin cut.
- 300 to 400 grams of homemade feta This may vary depending on how much you can add and the depth of your pie dish.
Directions
- Following the direction in my previous blog post, make a single-crust pie pasty and line your pie dish.
- Line the pastry with a double layer of foil and bake in the oven at 230 ° C for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 4 minutes. Do not prick the pastry or the egg mixture will seep through and make the pastry soggy on the bottom. Not pricking the pastry means that sometimes the pastry puffs up a little. If this happens, using the foil you removed earlier, reline the pastry and press it down flat. Remove the foil once this is done.
- While the pastry is in the oven, in a large mixing bowl, mix together all of your ingredients.
- Pour the egg, cheese, and rocket mixture into your pie crust.
- Bake at 160 °C for 50 minutes or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before eating.
I could not resist. I had to have a piece right away.
As always,
Live well.