This is a fun recipe. If you’ve been vegan for a long time, it can be a real comfort to make the things you ‘used’ to eat. I’ve used roasted butternut squash, red onion and thyme to flavour this quiche but the options are truly endless. Asparagus and mint, sprouting broccoli and sundried tomato, fennel and pea . . . you can even add chunks of your favourite vegan cheese. There are a fair few steps between the veg roasting and the pastry making but don’t be intimated, it’s really pretty simple. I promise it’ll be worth it when you sit down to a meal you haven’t had for years.
Don’t forget to check out the notes below for tips and ingredient recommendations.
ingredients
For the veg
½ butternut, peeled and de-seeded
1 small red onion, peeled and cut into eight segments
4 garlic cloves, skin left on
4 sprigs of thyme, plus extra for garnish
1 tsp. olive oil
½ tsp. flaky salt
large pinch black pepper
For the quiche filling
200g tofu, roughly chopped
50g soy milk
1 tsp. sea salt
100g water
15g nutritional yeast
30g chickpea flour
½ tsp. ground turmeric
25g olive oil
¼ tsp. black pepper
1 portion savoury polenta pastry
process
Preheat the oven to 200C and line a large baking tray with parchment paper.
Cut the butternut squash into 1cm thick pieces and place on the baking tray with the onion and garlic cloves. Strip the leaves from the thyme sprigs and sprinkle over the veg, along with the oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 20mins or until the butternut is tender. Turn the oven down to 180C.
Line the bottom of a 24cm pie dish with a round of parchment paper. On a clean, dry surface, dusted with gluten-free flour, roll the pastry into a round approx. 5mm thick and 32cm in diameter. Roll the pastry onto your rolling pin and then roll it out over the pie dish, gently shaping it up along sides. Aim to have 1cm of pastry hanging over the side of the pie dish. Trim and crimp the edges of the pastry and prick the bottom with a fork.
Brush the pastry with non-dairy milk and cover with a large piece of parchment paper. Fill with baking beads and blind bake for 20mins.
Prepare the quiche filling while the pastry is baking. Remove the skin from the garlic cloves and add to a blender along with all the ingredients for the quiche filling. Blend until completely smooth.
Once the pastry is ready, scatter half the butternut squash and red onion over the base of the pastry and pour in half of the quiche filling, repeat with the remaining veg and quiche filling. Top with a few more sprigs of thyme and bake for 45mins. Allow the quiche to cool slightly before serving.
NOTES
Pastry – any leftover pastry will freeze well for another recipe or if you aren’t worried about keeping this recipe gluten-free you can always use a vegan store-bought shortcrust pastry.
Want a more eggy flavour? Add ¼ to ½ teaspoon of Himalayan black salt a.k.a Kala Namak which has a sulphurous egg-like flavour.
Can I swap the chickpea flour with a different flour? I use chickpea flour because there is something about the texture that reminds me of egg. It can have a bitter flavour so I understand why some people don’t like it but you shouldn’t be able to taste it when it’s cooked. I haven’t tried this recipe with a different flour so I can’t guarantee it’ll work but if you feel like experimenting go for it.
