Reflections on a small piece of quiche

"When we eat, we travel." Mina Holland

This was my lunch today. A small piece of leftover quiche, so being otherwise clueless - partly because I have not been writing of late - otherwise occupied - and partly because it's an interesting exercise to do every now and then I decided to consider in a more analytical way than usual what my lunchtime quiche.

As you know by now I make quiche a lot. It usually begins with some kind of leftover which might well offend the purists, but it's a perfect way of hiding the perhaps not total freshness of the vegetables involved, and also a perfect way to do something interesting with a very small amount of something leftover.

In this case the starting point was leftover hot smoked salmon from Saturday's rösti topped with crème fraïche and hot smoked salmon. I had one full piece of salmon and a few flakes. There were also three rösti which I pondered on as I began to plan the dish. So what goes with salmon? Well dill and lemon are obvious, but I didn't have any dill. However, I did have a few feathery stalks of fennel growing in my garden, so I decided on that, because I knew that also using the chopped stalks of the fennel would boost that particular flavour. I also had a leek - these days I always try to have a leek in my vegetable drawer in the fridge. A softer flavour than onion. And perhaps a touch of zucchini - half a grated one. The zucchini also need to be used as they don't last long. The capers were instead of the lemon. Having chopped the vegetables and beaten the eggs and cream together, I then decided, that yes I would add the leftover rösti - after all what else could I do with them? So in they went, beaten into the egg and cream mixture before adding the now microwave softened leeks, zucchini and fennel stalks, the salmon and the capers.

A little late in the day I had discovered that I had no pastry in the freezer and so a fresh batch was made in about a minute in the Kenwood mixer - 450g flour, 5-g polenta, 250g butter - oh no - not really enough butter, so I added some olive oil and once that was of a breadcrumb texture the juice of half a lemon and some water was added to bring it all together. Rolled out, a small quiche tin buttered, and the pastry placed in the tin before baking blind ... Filling mixture added, some grated Parmesan scattered on top and into the oven for about half an hour. Done.

We didn't eat it all, so David had most of what was left for his dinner yesterday, as I was fasting. And today I had it for lunch. But cold.

So far this is a story of how the quiche was made, but even that, without much thought had already made me ponder, and reflect. The salmon is perhaps the most important, and I confess there was a mild sense of guilt about it. A tick for it being Australian, if you have a loyalty to Australia, but salmon is a no no really isn't it? There wasn't even a Sustainably Sourced label on it and definitely not an MSC label. Moreover the salmon - of course - still had skin on and so after its removal there was rather less than the advertised weight available to eat. A crispy skin might be OK for a fried piece of salmon, but not on a piece of smoked salmon. So mild irritation at mild deceit.

The rösti - and the salmon too were a reminder of our very pleasant Sunday lunch with friends, the happy time I had spent browsing cookbooks for ideas about what to cook, and how satisfying it was to find another use for these small remains. And so as I prepared it, and also when I ate it, I remembered these things.

The pastry - honestly I think I make quite good pastry even though I break a number of rules. I first learnt from my mother I think, but she wouldn't have been very rigid about it, but I do remember learning in high school cooking classes - yes we had some for a year or two - how to rub the butter into the pastry with your fingertips - the palms had to remain clean - and to hold your hands up high as you rubbed the two together so that air got into it. I also learnt - there and later in cookbooks that everything had to be cold, the water had to be ice-cold, and that you shouldn't knead it too much. Also once made it should be rested. Then rolled out and rested again - both times in the fridge. I did none of these things. The mixer took care of all of the first part, and I didn't have time for any of the resting. But nevertheless it was so soft, flaky, and yet crisp.

Although not when eaten cold the next day. The pastry had solidified somewhat in the fridge. But no matter, I had the memory of the flakiness of the original. And somehow the flavour of the salmon and the fennel is more apparent when eaten the next day - cold.

The filling. A matter of recipes - mostly from Jane Grigson I think, but perhaps with a little from Elizabeth David, but I gradually got the message that 3 eggs and 300ml of cream was basically an OK mixture - even though many recipes will have more eggs, less cream, just egg yolks ... This quiche however was smaller than usual however, so just two eggs, and good slosh of cream. Any vegetables you use in a filling should be softened - usually with butter - which I normally do in the microwave. And the rest is learning over the years what goes with what, what is not suitable - tomatoes - they are too liquid unless you dry them, roast them or just place them on top, having drained them first.

If you want to put your mind to it however, or write a blog about it, there is so much more to consider in that plate. There are ethical considerations - the salmon; fertilisers; pesticides; commercial practice; slave or underpaid labour in the harvesting process; pollution from the water to the trucks delivering the goods and all sorts, climate change ... and on it goes. There is the history of each ingredient - where does it come from, where does it now come from, what is the history of its spread from its first home. The geography too.

Yes it is all there on the plate, but obviously we don't consider any of those things when we are making or consuming it. The salmon is perhaps the only thing that gave me pause for any thought at all. The rest, for me, anyway is now pure instinct really - making quiche is one of my easiest meals. And fun.

However, I do think that personal memory is something that is present on just about every plate you eat. Where did you first taste it, do you have a specific memory of a particular place, or occasion associated with that food? How did you learn to make it? Those memories will probably be fleeting but they do contribute to the experience.

Everyday lunch in my world is a small thing. And generally not very exciting, but now that I think of it, some of my favourite small, sometimes somewhat guilty pleasures in the world - sardines on toast, banana sliced on to butter and a soft white-bread roll, cheese on those same rolls, with some cherry tomatoes on the side. Even with these simple things there is a whole world on my plate.

"There is quiet food, too. The tastes of peace and quiet, of gentleness and calm." Nigel Slater

YEARS GONE BY

June 10

2025 - Nothing

2024 - Panackarty, Pan Haggerty ...

2023 - Nothing

2022 - Cookie and Kate - one of those healthy - and successful - websites

2021 - Missing

2020 - Missing

2019 - Nothing

2018 - Nothing

2017 - On holiday