lockdown 2020 part 2

This year so far has been remarkable in many ways. The discovery of the Covid 19 pandemic has shaken the whole world. Life has changed and for some, permanently.

People stopped commuting into their offices, millions of us worked from home instead. We took to online video conferencing, suddenly seeing a whole different side of ‘The Boss’ struggling to hold a conference call with a couple of nursery-aged kiddies interfering or running around naked, and pets that had no intention of respecting personal space. Families, being unable to see each other in person, took to regularly holding remote family quiz nights.

Of course, we’ve seen many negatives, some people became very paranoid, some scared, some obsessed with conspiracy theories. Those with violent tendencies exacerbated in the close-confines of home with no external escape. We saw some dreadful tragedies, and people struggled. On the flip side, it also positively brought communities together, the able-bodied running errands and doing shopping for those unable to fend for themselves.

People have turned to many old-fashioned ways. Rather than running to the supermarket for massive shopping hauls, we’ve used our local corner shops, ordered fresh fruit and vegetable deliveries, professional bakers set up home ordering and delivery services from their domestic kitchens, pubs turned to takeaway services and breweries delivered polypins of ale to your door. The traffic reduced significantly, and we were able to hear wildlife again. In our local city centre, an otter was wandering about one evening! Worldwide, wildlife reclaimed public spaces, and pollution fell dramatically.

This has slowed now as we’ve begun to move out of lockdown to a revised normality, people aren’t panic-buying from our supermarkets any more. I truly hope that many of the resurgenced old-fashioned practices will continue for some time to come.

Baking and cooking your own meals from scratch doesn’t have to be difficult. If you learn some basics, and use a bit of imagination, you may be amazed what you can achieve.

One simple and quick make is a quiche. Begin with a short crust pastry, and whatever odd bits of food you need to use up.

Pastry

The following quantity can be sized up for a bigger quiche or if you want the pastry to rise up the sides like a pie. I prefer it to be base-only, so I used a half-kilo dough for a 8-9 inch diameter flan dish.

Recipe:

• • 500g plain flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • 250g cold butter – cut into small cubes

Method:

With your hands, gently blend in the salt, then add the cold butter. Gently, rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips. This will take a while, but you want all the butter evenly blended into the flour, more buttery than the ‘breadcrumbs’ mix you’d use for a sweet pie recipe. Once combined, add a teaspoon or so of water, but you may not need much. You want the dough to just stick together. Cover the dough (I pop it in a food bag) and pop it in the fridge to chill for a good half hour at least.

Once thoroughly chilled, gently roll out the pastry dough into the size and shape that fills the bottom of your chosen dish (which you’ve generously greased). Prick the pastry with a fork, then blind bake it for 10-15 minutes. It doesn’t need to be golden, but should be just-cooked. You don’t want a ‘soggy bottom’!

While the pastry is baking, prepare the filling.

Recipe:

• • 3 large eggs, gently beaten
  • 35ml milk
  • 1 tablespoon softened butter
  • 1 tablespoon plain flour
  • 170g grated cheese
  • Chosen filling ingredients

I chose to make a mushroom and onion quiche but you can choose anything you wish: a traditional bacon Quiche Lorraine, or ham and leek, or tomato and spring onion for example. You may also prefer to use cream rather than milk for a particularly decadent version. If so, don’t add the butter or flour in the filling mix.

Firstly, consider what your filling is to be. Unless you’re using ‘ready-to-eat’ ingredients such as ham and tomato, you’ll need to cook them before adding to the basic filling mix.

In a bowl, stir the beaten egg and milk together. Separately, add the flour into the grated cheese, then add this to the egg mixture with the softened butter. Gently whisk until all the ingredients have combined. Season with a little salt and pepper, or add herbs if you wish.

Then add in your chosen filling ingredients, and pour the whole mixture into your pre-baked pastry dish.

For my mushroom and onion quiche, chop half a large white onion into approximately inch-long slices, and fry them on a medium heat. Once starting to look opaque, add a good handful or two of sliced, mixed white and chestnut mushrooms. Let them gently cook through until the onions are golden but not too dark.

Cook the quiche at 180-200 degrees for about 35 minutes. You’re looking for this to be slightly soft to the touch, but firm. If worried, test with a skewer to ensure the eggs are cooked through.

The quiche can be eaten hot or cold.

If you find this quantity  of filling is a bit too much for your chosen dish, why not pour any excess into a cupcake tin for quick breakfasts or snacks.

I hope we’ll all return to a better new normal, whatever your normal might turn out to be.

Stay well, stay safe, and happy cooking!

love,

Maggie x