Recipe: No butter, no eggs, no issue: vegan mushroom, spinach and shallot quiche

From theguardian.com

Making your own pastry is worth it for this plant-based take on a traditional breakfast quiche

Using chickpea flour gives this quiche a smooth texture and pleasant flavour that makes an excellent base for traditional quiche ingredients.

This breakfast-friendly version is chock-full of sweet, lightly caramelised shallots, sautéed mushrooms and spinach.

Chock-full of sweet, lightly caramelised shallots and sautéed mushrooms: vegan quiche. Photograph: Kevin Bertolacci/DK Australia

Mushroom, spinach and shallot quiche

Prep 15 min
Cook 1 hr
Serves 8

For the pastry
375g unbleached plain flour
1½ tsp sea salt
12 tbsp non-hydrogenated organic shortening, partially frozen, cut into small cubes or solid coconut oil or plant-based butter)

120–150ml iced water

For the filling
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 shallots, thinly sliced
175g white button mushrooms, thinly sliced
140g baby spinach
1 tsp sea salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
360ml water
240ml vegetable stock
90g chickpea flour
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
½ tsp turmeric
Pinch sweet paprika
1 tbsp plant-based butter

2 tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped

First, make the pastry. In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, pulse the flour and salt several times to combine. Add half of the shortening cubes, pulse five or six times, and process for seconds. Add remaining shortening and pulse until the shortening resembles small, pea-sized pieces. (If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a pastry blender tool to combine the flour, salt and shortening.)

Transfer the flour mixture to a large bowl. Pour a few tablespoons of iced water over the flour mix, and quickly toss with a large kitchen fork to combine. Continue adding the water and tossing until the mixture just comes together and then use the heel of your hand to press the dough against the sides of the bowl to form a moist, cohesive ball.

Separate the dough into two equal pieces, wrap in cling wrap and use your hands to flatten each piece into a 12-centimetre disc.

Chill the dough for 30 minutes.

Once made, roll out pie pastry to a 28cm circle and transfer to a deep 23cm pie dish or tin. (The rest of the pastry can be saved, and works equally well for both sweet and savoury recipes.) Fold the edges of dough inwards and crimp using your thumb and two fingers to pinch the dough all around. Refrigerate until ready to fill.

For the filling, preheat the oven to 180C.

Heat two tablespoons of the extra virgin olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring once, for four minutes or until they begin to brown.

Add the button mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, for about five minutes or until the mushrooms are golden.

Add the spinach, half a teaspoon of salt and the pepper, and stir until wilted. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan over a medium heat, bring the water and vegetable stock to the boil. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, nutritional yeast, turmeric and sweet paprika. 

Add the remaining extra virgin olive oil to the boiling stock mixture and pour in the chickpea flour a little at a time, whisking vigorously to eliminate any lumps. Continue whisking for two minutes, or until the mixture thickens, and whisk in the remaining salt along with the butter and chives. Next, stir in the mushroom mixture.

Pour this mixture into the prepared pastry case and bake for 40 minutes or until the filling is set. Cool for 20 minutes before slicing. Serve warm or cold.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/jan/22/no-butter-no-eggs-no-issue-vegan-mushroom-spinach-and-shallot-quiche-from-scratch-recipe