What picnic blanket, BBQ buffet or garden party would be complete without quiche? Nobody has quite decided whether it originates from France, Germany or England, but one of us sure got it right.

One of the most versatile pastries ever, it can be enjoyed stone cold on the beach whilst you cower behind a windbreaker, lukewarm in the park while you wonder why the coolbag isn’t working, or piping hot with some salad indoors when the June showers hit. It has something of a reputation for being very, very unhealthy. This is fair enough, it’s butter, milk, eggs and cheese – sometimes even cream. But I’ve done my best to take the calorie count down a notch and made up for the butter indulgence by filling it up with green stuff.

for the pastry:
170g wholemeal flour
a pinch salt
100g butter (I used goat butter)
1 egg yolk
2 tbsps cold water                       

for the filling:
3 eggs (and the white of the egg you used for the yolk above)
200ml milk (I used almond)
150g grated pecorino
a few cubes feta
4 asparagus spears
half a head of broccoli
large handful finely chopped mint

1. To make the pastry, sift the flour and salt in to a large bowl. Cut the butter in to tiny little pieces (use two knives for this if possible, avoid human contact with the butter at this point, your hot human hands will melt it) and rub it in.  – if you’re not au fait with the rubbing in method, the BBC are here to help.
2. Once your flour and butter begin to resemble bread crumbs, mix your egg yolk with the water and pour half over the mixture, then quickly stir with a knife. Once it’s begun to come together, add the rest and keep stirring until it all comes together completely.
3. On a (very) lightly floured surface, roll the pastry out until it’s around half a centimetre thick and it’s big enough for you to confidently transfer in to your dish.
4. Transfer in to a greased 24cm pastry dish. If its a little messy, don’t worry, and if a little pastry is coming up over the sides of the dish, that’s a good thing – otherwise it might shrink back too far.
5. Blind bake in a pre-heated gas 6 oven for 15 minutes.
6. While your pastry is blind baking, steam the asparagus and broccoli for around 10 minutes or until cooked (if a sharp knife goes in smoothly, you’re good to go)
7. Whisk together the eggs, milk, cheese and mint.
8. Once your pastry is done, arrange the broccoli and asparagus in whichever pattern takes your fancy in the centre then pour over the egg mixture.
   

   

9. Put it back in the oven, same temperature, and bake for around 30 minutes.
10. When it’s done, it will still have a little wobble to it but will spring back when you tap it gently.

There we go, a little hard work but it’ll all be worth it when people compliment you on how well the mint comes through in the delicious quiche you made for the family picnic. Your track recommendation today is a perfect summer song from Toots and the Maytals.

Thanks for reading x