Gardener's Revenge
This quiche can be made with a mix of any green leaves,
Spinach, Chard, Good King Henry, Nettles or Ground Elder, but it is,
perhaps, especially satisfying to use principally nettles and ground
elder and to make a delicious meal out of those two weeds that cause you
so much anguish.
You can use a shortcrust pastry for the lining but I often use a yeast
dough which makes for a more substantial dish, a meal in itself, good
for picnics and lunch for hungry gardeners.
Serves 4 hungry people
Time taken 2 hours
for
the dough
2 level teaspoons dried yeast
2 tablespoons warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
225g strong white bread flour or pizza flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 small egg
2 tablespoons olive oil
Put the yeast, warm water and sugar into a jug
and stand in a warm place until frothy, about 5 minutes.
Put the flour and salt in a large bowl, stir to
mix, make a well in the centre, break in the egg and pour in the yeast
mixture and oil. Stir with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together
into a rough ball, then tip on to a floured surface and knead well for
about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Put the ball of
dough into an oiled bowl, cover with a clean cloth and leave to rise in
a warm place for about an hour.
If you have a food processor with a dough blade,
it will do all the mixing and kneading for you. Leave the dough in the
food processor bowl with the lid on until it has doubled in bulk.
While the dough rises go and do a little weeding.
Wear gloves if picking nettles.
pick from the garden
400g (1 large colander full) nettle tops, ground elder leaves,
Good King Henry leaves, topped up with chard or spinach if your garden
is not very weedy
a handful of Ramson (Allium ursinum) leaves and a few Gardlic
Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) leaves
Wash the leaves and bring a little, salted water
to the boil in a large saucepan. Tip in the leaves (not the ramsons or
garlic mustard) and turn them around and over with two wooden spoons for
4 or 5 minutes until they are all collapsed and just cooked. Drain them
very thoroughly, pressing out the water and tip onto a large chopping
board. Slice and chop the cooked leaves and the ramsons and/or garlic
mustard leaves and mix well.
for the filling
2 eggs
200 ml milk
150g Greek yoghurt (about 3 tablespoons)
100g grated Parmesan
ground black pepper
Lightly whisk the eggs in a bowl. Stir in the
milk, yoghurt and grated Parmesan and season with pepper.
assemble it all
Grease a 25cm flan tin. Knock back the
dough and knead again briefly. Roll out the dough to roughly the size of
the tin and drape it in. Using your knuckles and fingers, press and push
the dough to fill the tin and make a rim round the edge. The dough will
try to shrink back but keep pushing and pulling it to fill the tin; any
holes and tears are easy to mend.
Spread the leaves evenly over the bottom and
gently pour over the filling mix, smoothing it over the top of the
cooked leaves.
Put the tin on a hot baking sheet in a moderately
hot oven (190°C/Gas 5) and bake for 30-35 minutes (less in a fan oven)
until the filling is barely set and the dough is golden. Serve hot, warm
or cold and enjoy every mouthful