Chard, pancetta and feta make a tasty filling for a buttery quiche pastry.
Ingredients
For the pastry
125g butter, very cold from the fridge and cubed
200g plain white flour
4-5 tablespoons of ice cold water
For the filling
100g diced pancetta
1 medium white onion, finely diced
120g rainbow chard, stalks diced and leaves shredded
3 eggs
150ml double cream
Handful chives, finely chopped
75g feta, crumbled
Sea salt and black pepper
Instructions
First make your pastry. Sift the the flour into a large bowl, add the butter, and rub in with your fingers, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the water a tablespoon at a time (you may not need it all) and mix it together into a firm dough. Wrap in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
When the pastry has finished chilling roll out into a large circle, and use your rolling pin to lift it into a greased tin, trim, but leave a couple of centimetres overhang. Chill for another 30 minutes.
While the pasty is chilling is a good time to cook your filling. Cook the pancetta in a little olive oil in a medium sized frying pan, until lightly browned and crispy remove from the pan, leaving the fat in the pan, then sauce your onions and chard stalks for around 8 minutes until softened. Add the pancetta back in, then the shredded chard greens. Add a lid and cook for a few minutes until wilted. Season to taste, and set aside.
Pre-heat the oven and a baking tray to 180°C fan.
Prick the base of the pastry all over with a fork, add a layer of baking paper then some baking beans (I use old dried kidney beans). Blind bake for 20 minutes on top of the pre-heated tray. Then remove the beans and cook for another 10 minutes.
Remove the pastry case from the oven and trim the overhang so you have neat edges. Whisk together your 3 eggs for the filing in a small bowl, and use a pasty brush to paint a layer of egg inside the case. Return to the oven to dry out for 5-7 minutes.
Meanwhile whisk the cream into the eggs, and the chives and season with salt and pepper.
Finally, lower the heat of the oven to 160°C fan, scatter the cooked onion, pancetta and chard over the base of the quiche, then pour in the egg cream chive mix. Crumble the feta over the top, and return to the oven to bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the top of the quiche is just set.
Cool for around 10-15 minutes, before removing from the tin to serve.
Notes
You will need a 9inch/23cm diameter quiche tin
Recipe by Ceri Jones Chef at https://cerijoneschef.com/chard-pancetta-and-feta-quiche/