Recipe: Pumpkin banana bacon and date quiche

Quiche. Meal from the gods. A strange phenomenon that can be both classy and stuff-in-your-face Friday food. Now of course it is very easy to buy these cups filled with heavenly nectar, but it is much more satisfying to cook your own (mainly because you can add as much cheese as you want). I love quiche. Artists love Van Gogh and Picasso, actors love Shakespeare, musicians love Mozart. Quiche is my Shakespeare and I’m a firm believer that if more people were to make quiche, the world will be a much fuller and happier place.

Now the premise of this recipe is easy. You mix, mould, add and bake. The lesson to be taken away, however, is that quiche is something to be celebrated. Add your own fillings, the sky is the limit (not just the usual spinach and feta). Go crazy kids, this is my sonnet to you:

Ingredients:

4 Eggs

A dash of cream

1 Cup of flour

1/4 Cup of olive oil

A few drips of water

Mashed cooked pumpkin

Packet of bacon

1 Mashed banana

200g Cheddar cheese

A handful of chopped walnuts

A handful of chopped pitted dates

1) For the shell:

Mix 1 cup of flour with 1/4 cup of cold water and 1/4 cup of olive oil. Feel free to add spice, salt, pepper, basil seeds etc. I find the filling to hold spice better, however. When mixing, start out with a fork, but you’ll soon discover you need to use your hands. As the dough is quite oily, it won’t stick to your fingers, don’t worry. When the dough is thoroughly mixed and forms a soft, sticky and elastic ball, it is done. Tear off small thumb sized balls and press flat in your palm before inserting in a greased muffin pan. With your fingertips, work the dough as high possible up the sides so that the whole surface is about 2mm thick. When all the cups are filled, put the pan in the fridge and get going on the filling.

2) For the filling: 

Fry the bacon (duh). Chop the walnuts and dates roughly (double duh). Take about a cup and a half of the mashed pumpkin, and roughly mix it with the mashed banana. Now start layering! You ideal want about a teaspoonful of the pumpkin/banana mixture in each cup. Don’t overstuff it, remember it’s a dainty custard tart, not your grandmother’s famous pumpkin pie…  Lightly sprinkle some grated cheese over the mixture. Add the bacon, walnuts and dates till the cup is full. Add some more grated cheese. In a bowl, mix the 4 eggs with either a dash of cream, or milk (if you are fooling yourself with a diet, or merely can’t afford cream). Mix very well until it becomes a custard. Add some mixed herb spice, salt, pepper and a shake of paprika to the mixture. Pour slowly into the cups. It might seem as though there isn’t space, but trust me, there is. Fill cups about 3/4 full.

Bake for about 45 minute to an hour in 180 degrees oven. When cheese has browned and tarts are firm, they are done.

When it’s done, serve with some balsamic vinegar and fresh rocket. You can also eat them straight out of the pan if that’s your thing.

Variations: Try to use some brie or goats cheese to add some richness, switch the bacon for chorizo for a pungent flavour, swap the pumpkin with broccoli, or just add some fresh rocket leaves.

Happy eating! 😉