March Recipe – Mini Quiches

Ingredients

• 190g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 100g cold butter, cut into cubes, plus extra for greasing
• 10g Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 medium free-range egg
• 1 tsp ice-cold water

Filling

• 2 medium free-range eggs
• 2-3 slices ham, finely diced
• 200ml crème fraîche
• 80g mature cheddar cheese, grated
• Freshly ground black pepper

Method 

1. First make the pastry. For the best results, keep your hands and kitchen as cool as you can while doing this. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the Parmesan, then mix in the egg and the water until the dough forms a ball. You may need a tiny bit more water depending on the size of the egg. Wrap the pastry in clingfilm and chill it in the fridge for half an hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/Gas 4
3. Grease the tin with a little butter and a sprinkling of flour. Press the pastry discs gently into the tin.
4. Sprinkle some flour on your work surface and roll out the pastry. Using a pastry cutter cut out discs of pastry of a size to fit your mince pie tin. Think jam tarts – the sides must be high enough to contain the filling.
5. To make the filling, mix all the ingredients, except 25g of the cheese, together and stir gently to avoid getting too much air into the mixture. Spoon the filling into the pastry cases and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. Cook in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until the egg mixture has lost its wobble!
6. Serve hot or cold with new potatoes and a green salad.