Vegan Spinach & Corn Quiche

We came back last Sunday night from a long long drive coming back from the southern point of France - 14+ hours in a car is way more than I ever want to spend sitting down…! But we did it! and the reward of having been able to introduce Nemo to our second home has been so amazing.

On Monday night after a whole day of unpacking, laundry madness & trying to get back into a routine, it came to 7PM so fast I realised too late that our fridge was completely deserted apart from a block of tofu, a few old fruit and veg & luckily a roll of “Just Roll” puff pastry which was all still in date.

Hungry and too lazy to go down to the corner shop I decided to make do with what we had - since going vegan I’ve become very good at looking at my fridge & pantry and making up a meal in my head. It doesn’t always happen but some days a great idea pops up and this is what happened on Monday.. queue my vegan spinach & corn quiche!

Ingredients :

“Batter” :

• 1 block of firm tofu

• 1 big clove of garlic

• 1/2 tsp of nutmeg

• salt & pepper to taste

• 1 tsp of turmeric

• 1/2 cup of soy cream (can be replaced this with any plant milk)

• 4 tbsp of nutritional yeast

• 1/2 lemon juice

• optional: a pinch of truffle salt or truffle oil

• optional : 1 tsp of Dijon mustard

“Fillings” :

• 1 shallot

• 1/2 onion

• 2 cloves of garlic

• 2 carrots

• 2 stalks of celery

• 1/2 cup of frozen or fresh corn

• 5 balls of frozen spinach

• sprinkle of Italian / mixed dried herbs

• optional : liquid smoke or vegan Worcestershire sauce

• 1 tbsp of olive oil (for frying)

• optional : 1 handful of vegan parmesan

“Pastry” :

• "‘Just Roll” Puff Pastry

  OR if you have the patience and the time, this recipe for vegan shortcrust pastry (I don’t believe many people have the patience to make homemade puff pastry!)

Method :

1. Read your pastry instructions, it might have to be taken out of the fridge around 15- 30min before using, or more if it’s frozen! Do what they say, before unrolling onto your tray or into your pie dish.

2. In your blender place all of the “Batter” ingredients and blend on high until it’s smooth (it will look very similar to a hummus texture!) do a little taste test to see if it needs more salt / more nutritional yeast (I do both by tasting.. and often always add more once it’s almost done!)

3. On the side chop your carrots/onions/shallot/celery/garlic finely and sautée until soft into a pan with a drizzle of olive oil. Once everything has softened, add in your frozen spinach and corn and sauté for a few minutes until everything has defrosted (if using fresh spinach & corn add at this point as well!)

4. In a large mixing bowl, mix in the batter with the veggies/filling until completely combined, then add your liquid smoke/vegan Worcestershire if you’re using any. At this point I do a last taste test to see if it needs salt/pepper.

5. Make sure your pastry has been stretched a little to have high borders all along, then pour your batter inside the pastry, smooth with a spatula, place in a preheated oven at 180C on fan for 30min or until both the pastry and filling looks cooked and golden!

6. Serve with some crispy lettuce and tomato chutney, the perfect quick easy mid-week dinner, which makes amazing lunch leftovers!!

This was a really lovely surprise, I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did and it’s quickly become a new favourite recipe which I cannot wait to make again, and try different versions of as well! This could be turned into just about any type of quiche if you just swap the veggies for something different, like tomatoes for example, or caramelised onions, or stem broccoli and sundried tomatoes (OMG YES BEST IDEA.. sorry just thought of that on the go)

If you try this at home make sure to let me know!! I love to see your creations, tag me if you share it!

Coming soon with some life updates and photos from our Christmas break, as well as a little New Year’s resolutions post coming soon!