Becki's Basque Quiche

I found a recipe for a Basque Tart a while ago and thought that I would quite like to give it a go, as with everything I do I took some artistic licence and put my own spin on it. I really like how it turned out and was great with a salad for lunch.

I love the name of it, it reminds me of a Moulin Rouge type place, probably because I have always known a Basque to be a form of underwear!!

This recipe is great when cooled to be taken on picnics too. Hopefully the weather would be better than it is today, feels like its done nothing but rain on and off for the past few days. If you do make this or any of my other recipes, please feel free to email them in, I would love to see how they turned out.

Ingredients:

• 200g ready rolled shortcrust pastry
• a little plain flour
• 3 eggs, beaten
• Streaky bacon, sliced into strips and fried until crispy
• 150g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 200ml semi-skimmed milk
• 300ml crème fraiche
• 25g (ish) Gruyere, grated
• a few (I used 4, but depends on the size) of sun ripened tomatoes
• 2tsp smoked paprika
• salt
• pepper

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to 1cm thick and cut a large round of pastry slightly larger than the fluted flan tin. Line the flan case using the pastry, pressing in well and prick the base. Trim any overhanging pastry and chill for 10 minutes.  

2. Line the pastry case with baking parchment and fill with baking beans. Bake in the oven on a baking sheet for 15 minutes until golden at the edges. Remove the parchment and beans at this point.

3. Reduce the oven to 170 degrees. Prepare the filling by whisking together the milk and crème fraîche. Whisk in the 3 beaten eggs and season well with salt and pepper. Add the smoked paprika and whisk well. Arrange the bacon and cherry tomatoes in the base of the pastry and pour the filling over the top.

4. Add the slices of sun ripened tomatoes and sprinkle the Gruyere on top and bake in the oven on a baking sheet for 25 minutes until set and golden. Remove and serve immediately in wedges with a side salad.