Pea, Mint & Asparagus Quiche (Vegan)
I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the last throes of summer – the unusually warm September afternoons have seen my little girl and I still skipping around in summer frocks and enjoying pink sunsets from our little south London balcony. This week however has started off pretty chilly and grey, and I suspect autumn (which I also happen to love!) is kicking in. But I plan to keep the summery feeling going for as long as possible by regularly making this tasty lunchtime dish – a lovely quiche which tastes amazingly fresh and is yet another brilliant way to use tofu. The first time I experimented with a quiche using tofu, I was blown away by how good it tasted – the tofu puffs up and behaves much as you’d expect eggs to within a quiche. To replicate that distinctive eggy kick, I’ve used kala namak here and I urge you to seek some out! It’s a special type of salt which smells and tastes, bizarrely, like eggs. You have to try it to believe it! I am thrilled with this quiche and have since made a few variations, including a spicy Mexican number and an Italian one packed with basil and sundried tomatoes. This Pea, Mint & Asparagus version is my favourite so far.
Serves 6-8, depending how big you’d like your slices.
*You’ll need a 9″ quiche/tart tin, lined with approximately 300-350g shortcrust pastry. Lately I’ve been using a lot of shop bought (most of it is vegan, which is a bonus!) but you can make your own following my guide here
*300-350g shortcrust pastry
150g peas (frozen is fine!)
125g asparagus tips
200g firm tofu, pressed or squeezed to remove excess water
125ml unsweetened organic soy milk
50g grated vegan cheese
Handful of chopped walnuts (about 40g)
1 tbsp nutritional flakes (optional)
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp kala namak salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
6 spring onions, finely sliced
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint
Preheat the oven to 190c/375f/gas mark 5. Line your quiche tin with pastry (see guide here) and blind bake for around 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, steam the asparagus and peas for just 2-3 minutes and set aside to cool. Place the tofu, soy milk, vegan cheese, walnuts, nutritional flakes, turmeric, salt and pepper in a processor and blitz until very smooth and creamy.
Spoon the mixture into a mixing bowl and add the sliced spring onions, mint and peas. Stir to combine. (If you added them into the processor earlier, you’d end up with a really unappetising murky green quiche!) Pour the mixture into your prepared quiche tin then evenly distribute the asparagus – push some down into the mixture, and keep some tips visible at the top. When you’re happy with the way it looks, place in the centre of a preheated oven. Bake for around 30 minutes, or until the top of the quiche looks lightly golden. Allow to cool before removing from the tin and store in the fridge – it will firm as it cools.
